title: Using implementation science to improve urologic oncology care.
abstract: There are many gaps between recommended urologic cancer care and real-world practice. Although we increasingly define these quality gaps because of our growing health services research capacity in urologic oncology, we often fall short in translating these findings into effective interventions and strategies to reduce gaps in care. In this article, we highlight implementation research as a logical next step for translating our health services research findings into effective individual and organizational behavior change strategies to improve quality of care. We explain how implementation research focuses on different, upstream outcomes from our clinical outcomes to get the right care to the right patient at the right time. Lastly, we share information about resources and training for those interested in learning more about this emerging, transdisciplinary field.
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; Dow Division of Health Services Research, Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Electronic address: tskolar@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Ted A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Skolarus
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Learning Health Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sales
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends*; D012107:Research Design
keywords: Dissemination; Implementation; Oncology; Translation; Voltage drop