Development of a theoretically based implementation protocol

Background Internationally there is a gap between the development and delivery of professional pharmacy services. The fields of implementation science and knowledge translation have developed across disciplines with the objective of bringing evidence to practice. What appears necessary for success, but is not evident in implementation frameworks, is that core concepts should be considered for every implementation effort. A Generic Implementation Framework (GIF) was developed to illustrate these core concepts [1]. The framework consists of six components; process of implementation, domains (the innovation to be implemented and the context in which the implementation is to occur), influencing factors, strategies and interventions utilised to aid the process, and evaluations employed. The GIF may be utilised as a base for the development of implementation protocols or programs and then tailored for use, depending on the innovation, user, setting, discipline and objective. The GIF was operationalized for community pharmacy as the Framework for the Implementation of Pharmacy Services (FISpH) and practically applied to design an implementation study.