New MSFHR Development Grants support teams using implementation science to improve care

14 September 2018

MSFHR’s new Implementation Science Team (IST) Program is designed to address a gap in understanding how research findings and other evidence-based practices are taken up to ultimately improve health and health care in BC.

Consisting of two phases, a Development Grant and a Project Grant, the program supports teams of researchers and research users to plan, conduct and study the implementation of proven health interventions to improve the quality and effectiveness of health, health services and care in BC.

For phase one, MSFHR has awarded Development Grants to support 10 teams with their project development, as they work towards submitting full and comprehensive Project Grant applications.

The 10 teams from across BC are working on projects that address BC’s health system priorities and range from chronic disease care in Haida Gwaii, to at-home cervical cancer screening in northern BC, and peer support for adults with Type 1 diabetes in rural and remote parts of BC’s southern interior.

A full list of funded teams and research projects

“Implementation science is important because it provides evidence to inform the integration of interventions into practice settings. In BC, we are interested in using this science to improve how health care is delivered across our province. This program, the first of its kind for MSFHR, is an opportunity to enhance health care as well as grow BC’s implementation science capacity,” says MSFHR President & CEO Dr. Bev Holmes.

Each $10,000 Development Grant includes support and training to deepen the team’s knowledge of implementation science and enable the development of a detailed Project Grant application, for submission in February 2019. Based on peer review of these applications, up to five teams will receive full Project Grants, valued at $500,000 over three years.

Globally, health care systems and funders are beginning to recognize the importance of implementation science and its impact on supporting health system change. Through the IST Program, MSFHR is building implementation science capacity in BC and supporting the adoption of proven interventions in BC’s health system priority areas.