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Implementation Research in Mental Health Services: an Emerging Science with Conceptual, Methodological, and Training challenges

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Abstract

One of the most critical issues in mental health services research is the gap between what is known about effective treatment and what is provided to consumers in routine care. Concerted efforts are required to advance implementation science and produce skilled implementation researchers. This paper seeks to advance implementation science in mental health services by over viewing the emergence of implementation as an issue for research, by addressing key issues of language and conceptualization, by presenting a heuristic skeleton model for the study of implementation processes, and by identifying the implications for research and training in this emerging field.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this article was supported in part by the Center for Mental Health Services Research, at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St Louis; through an award from the National Institute of Mental Health (5P30 MH068579).

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Correspondence to Enola K. Proctor.

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Proctor, E.K., Landsverk, J., Aarons, G. et al. Implementation Research in Mental Health Services: an Emerging Science with Conceptual, Methodological, and Training challenges. Adm Policy Ment Health 36, 24–34 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-008-0197-4

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