Embracing policy implementation science to ensure translation of evidence to cancer control policy

Abstract

Although health-related policies are abundant, efforts to understand how to ensure that these policies serve as an effective vehicle for translating scientific evidence are relatively sparse. This paper explores how policy-focused implementation science (IS) may contribute to understanding the translation of scientific evidence to health-related policy in governmental and nongovernmental sectors. Expanding the focus of implementation science in cancer control could systematically address policy to both increase the use of scientific evidence in general and to address health equity. In this Commentary, we look to relevant work outside of IS that could be informative, most notably from the field of political science. We propose several ideas for future research that could help move the field of policy implementation science in cancer control in the USA forward. Although most efforts to increase uptake of the scientific evidence base reference translation to “practice and policy,” there has been relatively little emphasis in the USA on implementation at the policy level, especially related to cancer control. If we are to achieve the full benefits of scientific discovery on population and public health, we will need to consider policy as a critical mechanism by which evidence can be translated to practice. We have a robust set of methods within implementation science that are increasing the pace of adoption and maintenance of evidence-based programs in a variety of settings. Building on these efforts, the time is right to expand our focus to include policy implementation.

Quantitative measures used in empirical evaluations of mental health policy implementation: A systematic review

“…The nexus between political science and implementation science offers benefits for measurement efforts. In particular, political science has a rich history of measuring the outer context of policy implementation (the policy and political environments) ( Emmons et al, 2021 ). Valid, reliable, and pragmatic measures are needed to evaluate policy implementation and close the policy-to-practice gap ( Martin et al, 2019 ; Oh et al, 2021 ).…”

Evaluation of Seattle’s sweetened beverage tax on tax support and perceived economic and health impacts

“…Third, generalization of our results to other cities may be limited. Fourth, we did not explicitly approach this research question through a policy implementation science lens; however, doing so could further contribute to our understanding of the circumstances under which SBTs are more likely to be implemented and help ensure full implementation of SBTs once adopted ( Emmons et al, 2021 ). Finally, although survey questions were piloted, our survey items were not explicitly validated, and the results may be specific to the use of this measure.…”

Advancing the science of policy implementation: a call to action for the implementation science field

“…At the same time, Dodson et al define policy implementation science as “focused on generating knowledge to effectively spread research evidence among policymakers and integrate evidence-based interventions into policy designs” [ 11 ]. While several commentaries and papers have emerged in recent years on policy implementation science [ 12–18 ], there remains a lack of a common understanding and subsequent methodological advancement specific to policy implementation in the implementation science field. This gap has likely led to the disconnect that is seen in the public health literature and funded studies of policy “implementation” as well as the challenges that applicants and grant reviewers alike face when applying for or reviewing policy implementation science proposals.…”