Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand globally, requiring massive public health responses from national and local governments. These bodies have taken heterogeneous approaches to their responses, including when and how to introduce and enforce evidence-based interventions—such as social distanci...
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2020-09-01
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doaj-1490d11814c04a9f9a8203e5c43d5b9d2020-11-25T03:53:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652020-09-01810.3389/fpubh.2020.00462557217Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 PandemicArianna Rubin Means0Anjuli D. Wagner1Eli Kern2Laura P. Newman3Laura P. Newman4Bryan J. Weiner5Bryan J. Weiner6Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United StatesDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United StatesPublic Health—Seattle and King County, Seattle, WA, United StatesDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United StatesOffice of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Washington State Department of Health, Seattle, WA, United StatesDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United StatesDepartment of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United StatesThe COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand globally, requiring massive public health responses from national and local governments. These bodies have taken heterogeneous approaches to their responses, including when and how to introduce and enforce evidence-based interventions—such as social distancing, hand-washing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing. In this commentary, we reflect on opportunities for implementation science to contribute meaningfully to the COVID-19 pandemic response. We reflect backwards on missed opportunities in emergency preparedness planning, using the example of PPE stockpiling and supply management; this planning could have been strengthened through process mapping with consensus-building, microplanning with simulation, and stakeholder engagement. We propose current opportunities for action, focusing on enhancing the adoption, fidelity, and sustainment of hand washing and social distancing; we can combine qualitative data, policy analysis, and dissemination science to inform agile and rapid adjustment to social marketing strategies to enhance their penetration. We look to future opportunities to enhance the integration of new evidence in decision-making, focusing on serologic and virologic testing systems; we can leverage simulation and other systems engineering modeling to identify ideal system structures. Finally, we discuss the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic challenges implementation science to become more rapid, rigorous, and nimble in its approach, and integrate with public health practice. In summary, we articulate the ways in which implementation science can inform, and be informed by, the COVID-19 pandemic, looking backwards, proposing actions for the moment, and approaches for the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00462/fullimplementation scienceCOVID-19public health responsenovel coronavirusSARS-CoV-2 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Arianna Rubin Means Anjuli D. Wagner Eli Kern Laura P. Newman Laura P. Newman Bryan J. Weiner Bryan J. Weiner |
spellingShingle |
Arianna Rubin Means Anjuli D. Wagner Eli Kern Laura P. Newman Laura P. Newman Bryan J. Weiner Bryan J. Weiner Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic Frontiers in Public Health implementation science COVID-19 public health response novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 |
author_facet |
Arianna Rubin Means Anjuli D. Wagner Eli Kern Laura P. Newman Laura P. Newman Bryan J. Weiner Bryan J. Weiner |
author_sort |
Arianna Rubin Means |
title |
Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_short |
Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full |
Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_fullStr |
Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Implementation Science to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_sort |
implementation science to respond to the covid-19 pandemic |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Public Health |
issn |
2296-2565 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand globally, requiring massive public health responses from national and local governments. These bodies have taken heterogeneous approaches to their responses, including when and how to introduce and enforce evidence-based interventions—such as social distancing, hand-washing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing. In this commentary, we reflect on opportunities for implementation science to contribute meaningfully to the COVID-19 pandemic response. We reflect backwards on missed opportunities in emergency preparedness planning, using the example of PPE stockpiling and supply management; this planning could have been strengthened through process mapping with consensus-building, microplanning with simulation, and stakeholder engagement. We propose current opportunities for action, focusing on enhancing the adoption, fidelity, and sustainment of hand washing and social distancing; we can combine qualitative data, policy analysis, and dissemination science to inform agile and rapid adjustment to social marketing strategies to enhance their penetration. We look to future opportunities to enhance the integration of new evidence in decision-making, focusing on serologic and virologic testing systems; we can leverage simulation and other systems engineering modeling to identify ideal system structures. Finally, we discuss the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic challenges implementation science to become more rapid, rigorous, and nimble in its approach, and integrate with public health practice. In summary, we articulate the ways in which implementation science can inform, and be informed by, the COVID-19 pandemic, looking backwards, proposing actions for the moment, and approaches for the future. |
topic |
implementation science COVID-19 public health response novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00462/full |
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