Abstract
Evidence-based practices take, on average, 17 years to be incorporated into routine general practice in health care. This delay creates an “evidence-to-practice” gap where evidence exists about a particular subject, but no action is taken. Implementation science offers theoretical and practical approaches to understanding barriers to and improving translation of evidence into practice. The following steps can be followed to implement evidence-based practice: (1) define the evidence-based practice or intervention, (2) choose a theory, model, or framework, (3) assess determinants, barriers, enablers, and context with respect to the practice or intervention, (4) select implementation strategies, and (5) select options for monitoring and evaluating implementation. Implementation science has been applied to the field of cardiology with recommendations for incorporation into guidelines. This chapter provides an overview of implementation science for improving adoption of and sustained adherence to evidence-informed recommendations in clinical practice.