Using implementation tools to design and conduct quality improvement projects for faster and more effective improvement John Ovretveit Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Brian Mittman Department of Research and Evaluation, KPSC Research and Evaluation, Pasadena, California, USA, and Lisa Rubenstein and David A. Ganz Veterans Health Administration, Los Angeles, California, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enable improvers to use recent knowledge from implementation science to carry out improvement changes more effectively. It also highlights the importance of converting research findings into practical tools and guidance for improvers so as to make research easier to apply in practice. Design/methodology/approach – This study provides an illustration of how a quality improvement (QI) team project can make use of recent findings from implementation research so as to make their improvement changes more effective and sustainable. The guidance is based on a review and synthesis of improvement and implementation methods. Findings – The paper illustrates how research can help a quality project team in the phases of problem definition and preparation, in design and planning, in implementation, and in sustaining and spreading a QI. Examples of the use of different ideas and methods are cited where they exist. Research limitations/implications – The example is illustrative and there is little limited experimental evidence of whether using all the steps and tools in the one approach proposed do enable a quality team to be more effective. Evidence supporting individual guidance proposals is cited where it exists. Practical implications – If the steps proposed and illustrated in the paper were followed, it is possible that quality projects could avoid waste by ensuring the conditions they need for success are in place, and sustain and spread improvement changes more effectively. Social implications – More patients could benefit more quickly from more effective implementation of proven interventions. Originality/value – The paper is the first to describe how improvement and implementation science can be combined in a tangible way that practical improvers can use in their projects. It shows how QI project teams can take advantage of recent advances in improvement and implementation science to make their work more effective and sustainable. Keywords Evidence-based practice, Clinical effectiveness, Improvement models, Quality improvement, Continuous quality improvement Paper type Viewpoint Introduction Could recent research into implementation help quality teams to make more effective change? Could researchers do more to help improvers by translating their findings into practical tools and guidance? Our answer is “yes” to both questions. Our evidence and rationale comes from a review and synthesis of how implementation and improvement science can be combined for faster and more effective improvement (Øvretveit, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to enable improvers to make more use of implementation science by illustrating individual ideas and tools from this science, and summarizing this in a four-step approach to an implementation-enhanced quality project. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance Vol. 30 No. 8, 2017 pp. 755-768 © Emerald Publishing Limited 0952-6862 DOI 10.1108/IJHCQA-01-2017-0019 Received 31 January 2017 Revised 31 January 2017 Accepted 10 April 2017 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0952-6862.htm 755 Using implementation tools Downloaded by University of California Los Angeles At 21:47 28 September 2017 (PT)