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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Main Authors: Arianna Rubin Means, Anjuli D. Wagner, Eli Kern, Laura P. Newman, Bryan J. Weiner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00462/full
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spelling 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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