Season 2, Episode 10: From Evidence to Impact: Implementation Science with Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw
In this episode of the Emerging Scholar Podcast, John is joined by doctoral student and colleague Nika Klaprat to co-host a conversation with implementation science pioneer Jeremy Grimshaw. Drawing on their CIHR-funded research on protected cycling infrastructure and active transportation, the discussion explores a central question in modern health research: why do some evidence-based interventions succeed in practice while others fail to take hold?
Dr. Grimshaw reflects on the evolution of implementation science from the evidence-based medicine movement and explains why generating strong evidence is only the beginning. The conversation also highlights his use of randomized controlled trials not just to test clinical interventions, but to test how clinical guidelines themselves are implemented and adopted in real-world settings.
We highlight a challenge many trainees face when entering the field—navigating the many theories, models, and frameworks used in implementation science. From clinical guidelines to public health infrastructure, this episode highlights how implementation science helps bridge the gap between what we know works and what actually happens in practice.
Papers & Resources That We Touched On In This Episode:
- Effect of clinical guidelines on medical practice: a systematic review of rigorous evaluations
- De-implementing wisely: developing the evidence base to reduce low-value care
- From best evidence to best practice: effective implementation of change in patients' care
- Improving stroke outcomes
- Implementation of evidence-based treatment protocols to manage fever, hyperglycaemia, and swallowing dysfunction in acute stroke (QASC): a cluster randomised controlled trial
- Mortality Reduction for Fever, Hyperglycemia, and Swallowing Nurse-Initiated Stroke Intervention: QASC Trial (Quality in Acute Stroke Care) Follow-Up
- A guide to using the Theoretical Domains Framework of behaviour change to investigate implementation problems
- Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR)
- The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) User Guide: a five-step guide for conducting implementation research using the framework
- RE-AIM
- Understanding and applying the RE-AIM framework: Clarifications and resources
- Our Co-Interviewer for the episode: Nika Klaprat
- Work from Dr. McGavock’s lab on implementing cycling infrastructure in Canada
Guests
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Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw
Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw, MBChB, PhD, FCAHS, is an internationally recognised leader in implementation science and health knowledge translation. Trained in medicine at the University of Edinburgh and completing his PhD at the University of Aberdeen, he moved to Canada in 2002 and has since become a global authority on closing the gap between research and practice.
He is a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Full Professor at the University of Ottawa, where he previously held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Health Knowledge Transfer and Uptake. Dr. Grimshaw directs Cochrane Canada, co-leads the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges, and played a national leadership role during COVID-19 as co-lead of COVID-END.
A Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, he has received multiple national awards for knowledge translation and has authored more than 700 peer-reviewed publications, shaping how evidence informs healthcare policy and practice worldwide.
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Nika Klaprat
Nika Klaprat (she/her) is a PhD student in the College of Community and Global Health at the University of Manitoba, and a trainee within the DREAM Diabetes Research Theme at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. She is passionate about working with city leaders, planners, and policymakers to design urban environments that promote public health and sustainability. Under the guidance of Dr. Jon McGavock and Dr. Kathryn Sibley, her thesis research uses mixed methods to examine the implementation and population-health impacts of urban cycling infrastructure in Canadian cities.