WP 7 - Implementation
Lead: University of Twente
Faculty: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
WP 7 supports RECENTRE with awareness and guidance on health technology innovation and implementation. RECENTRE integrates state-of-the-art theories and models for sustainable implementation of innovations in healthcare practice. These include stakeholder involvement, user acceptance, regulations, (early-)cost effectiveness analyses and business modelling. This is facilitated by an implementation specialist who is involved in each work package to increase the potential for sustainable implementation.
During the past 2 years WP 7 has explored, together with all work packages, implementation definitions, assumptions, stakeholders, and support needs. Identified follow-up activities have been documented in an implementation research strategy plan. The plan includes 3 main strategies for 2024-2025: 1) contextual inquiry to better understand current practice, 2) stimulating interdisciplinary collaboration (internally and externally to RECENTRE), and 3) needs-based activities for awareness and guidance.
So far, other work packages have appreciated the support provided by WP 7 in terms of stimulating the interdisciplinary connection and collaboration and in terms of retaining the focus on innovation, implementation, and socio-economic impact, especially since it can be difficult for researchers to find time taking this into account from the very start of a research program. As such, WP 7 activities have been tightly integrated with the ongoing activities and plans of the other work packages. For 2025, WP 7 is focusing on intensifying external stakeholder interactions based on the preliminary results of contextual inquiry, e.g. on patient journeys, market trends and reimbursement of lifestyle interventions and eHealth technologies.
Roosink M, van Gemert-Pijnen L, Verdaasdonk R, Kelders SM. Assessing health technology implementation during academic research and early-stage development: support tools for awareness and guidance: a review. Front Digit Health. 2024 Oct 14;6:1386998.