Based on Research Conducted at OSLC

We know little about how to achieve successful implementations when interventions are rolled out into community settings. The Stages of Implementation Completion® (SIC) was examined in collaboration with developers of three evidence-based practices.

Project Overview

Despite the proliferation of evidence-based practices, we know little about how to achieve ‘successful’ implementation when interventions are rolled out into community settings. What agency-based factors need to be in place before successful implementation can occur?

The lack of understanding of ‘what it takes’ to install these evidence-based practices can have costly public health consequences, including a lack of availability of the most beneficial services, wasted efforts and resources on failed implementation attempts, and, after failed attempts, the potential for engendering reluctance to try implementing new ones. The Stages of Implementation Completion® (SIC), originally developed with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, is an eight stage tool of implementation process and milestones, with stages spanning three implementation phases (pre-implementation, implementation, and sustainability). The eight stages span implementation activities from Engagement to Achieving Competency. This tool has been adapted for a number of evidence-based practices specifically, and a “universal” tool has been developed for use of monitoring of general implementation strategies.

The SIC and its associated cost mapping tool, the Cost of Implementing New Strategies (COINS), are being utilized in other implementation efforts funded by the NIMH. As part of sub-awards, the SIC research team is involved in (1) a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to evaluate an implementation strategy for collaborative care for perinatal depression in federally qualified health centers (R01 MH108548; PI: Bennett) and (2) a global health study in Myanmar focused on developing a protocol, including relevant measurement tools, to assess organizational readiness to implement evidence-based mental health services and to monitor organizational progress to achieving service sustainability in low resourced global settings (U19MH110002; PI: Bass).

In addition to these NIH-funded efforts, the SIC team currently collaborates with implementers of multiple evidence-based practices, with purveyors, and with implementing systems and organizations. If you would like consultation on assessing roll-outs of evidence-based practices or other general implementation efforts, please contact Lisa Saldana, Ph.D. or visit www.oslc.org/sic.

Contact Information

Lisa Saldana, Ph.D.
lisas@oslc.org
(541) 485-2711

Year Project Began: 2012
Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Co-Investigator:

Formerly Affiliated Principal Investigator:

  • Lisa Saldana, Ph.D.