Aims and Scope of the Journal of Implementation Science
The Journal of Implementation Science (JIS) publishes research on how evidence-based interventions, programs and policies are adopted, delivered and sustained in health care, public health and related services.
- Volume 1, 2026
- Open access · CC BY 4.0
- Published by Open Access Pub
What the journal sets out to do
Study the path into practice
To publish rigorous research on how evidence reaches routine practice, including the barriers and facilitators that shape adoption and the strategies used to support it.
Strengthen the methods
To advance the designs, theories, frameworks and measures on which implementation research depends, and to report them with enough detail for others to use.
Inform practice and policy
To report evidence that helps clinicians, health-service teams, public-health practitioners and policymakers deliver and sustain effective care in every region, including settings with limited resources.
Share it openly
To make this research free to read and reuse, so that researchers, practitioners and educators can build on it.
Research areas
JIS considers research on the implementation of evidence in health care, including medicine, nursing and the allied health professions, in public health and health systems, and in related services such as social care and community programs. The areas below are illustrative and form part of a wider field, and they include, but are not limited to:
- Implementation strategiesDevelopment, tailoring and evaluation of strategies that support the use of evidence.
- Determinants of implementationBarriers, facilitators, context and organizational readiness.
- Theories, models and frameworksTheir development, testing and use in planning and evaluating implementation.
- Fidelity and adaptationHow interventions are delivered as intended or modified for local settings.
- Adoption and reachUptake by professionals, teams, organizations and communities.
- Sustainment and scale-upMaintenance of practice over time and spread across services and regions.
- De-implementationReducing or stopping low-value or harmful practices.
- Quality improvement and learning health systemsImprovement methods, audit and feedback, and data-driven change.
- Health policy and system changeImplementation of policies, guidelines, financing and governance reforms.
- Equity and community engagementFairness of access and outcomes, and partnership with patients and communities.
- Digital health and decision supportImplementation of digital tools, clinical decision support and health information systems in routine care.
- Measurement and economic evaluationImplementation outcomes, instruments, costs and cost-effectiveness of implementation.
- Workforce, education and trainingPreparing professionals and teams to deliver evidence-based practice.
- Evidence synthesisReviews and syntheses of implementation evidence and methods.
Contributions from clinical, public-health, behavioral, organizational, social, data and computational disciplines are welcome when they address how evidence is put into practice. A topic that is not named above is within scope when it meets that test. Studies of efficacy alone, with no implementation focus, are outside the journal's scope.
Designs and approaches welcomed
JIS considers quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research. Study designs are reported within the article types listed below; a stepped-wedge trial, for example, is submitted as Original Research.
Hybrid effectiveness–implementation studies
Designs that assess clinical or population effectiveness together with implementation outcomes.
Pragmatic and cluster trials
Pragmatic, cluster-randomized and stepped-wedge trials of implementation strategies.
Quasi-experimental evaluations
Controlled before-and-after, interrupted time-series and natural-experiment designs.
Observational and routine-data studies
Cohort, cross-sectional and registry or health-record analyses of implementation and its outcomes.
Qualitative and mixed methods
Interviews, focus groups, ethnography, realist and participatory research, alone or with quantitative data.
Economic evaluation and modeling
Cost, cost-effectiveness and simulation studies of implementation strategies and programs.
Evidence synthesis
Systematic, scoping and mapping reviews of implementation evidence.
Methodological research
New, adapted or validated methods, measures and frameworks for implementation research.
What makes a manuscript a fit
Manuscripts are assessed for their relevance to implementation, the soundness of their methods and whether their conclusions are proportionate to the evidence. Clinical and allied health studies are considered when they examine how an intervention, program or policy is implemented, not only whether it works.
Implementation case studies
An Implementation Case Study describes and analyzes the implementation of a program, service or policy in a defined setting, with clear methods and an account of what the experience shows for others. Patient-level case reports are not accepted.
Commentaries and letters
Commentaries and Letters are accepted when they make a reasoned argument, supported by evidence and cited sources, on an implementation question or on work published in JIS. Unsupported opinion, meaning assertion without evidence or reasoned argument, is outside the journal's scope.
Preprints
Posting a preprint is compatible with submission. Authors cite the preprint and its DOI in the cover letter.
Article types
The journal publishes the article types below. Guidance on structure, abstract and reporting guideline for each type is given in the Instructions for Authors.
| Article type | Description |
|---|---|
| Original Research | Empirical studies of implementation using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. |
| Review | Systematic, scoping or mapping reviews of implementation evidence, with or without meta-analysis. |
| Study Protocol | Protocols for planned implementation studies, trials and reviews. |
| Methods Article | New, adapted or validated methods, measures, designs or frameworks for implementation research. |
| Implementation Case Study | Structured accounts of implementing a program, service or policy in a defined setting. |
| Short Communication | Concise reports of a focused or preliminary finding. |
| Commentary | Evidence-based argument on a current implementation question or on published research. |
| Letter | Brief responses to articles published in JIS, or short observations of relevance to implementation. |
Where a manuscript sits between types, authors choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter, and the editors confirm the classification. A mapping review is classified as a Review.
Scope questions
Is my topic within scope?
A manuscript is within scope when it addresses how evidence is put into practice in health care, public health or related services, whatever its discipline or setting. If you are unsure, send the title and abstract to the editorial office at [email protected] before submitting.
Are clinical and allied health studies within scope?
Yes, when they examine implementation: for example, how a guideline, service model or intervention is adopted, delivered, adapted or sustained by clinicians and teams.
Does JIS consider studies from a single setting?
Yes. Local, national, regional and multi-country studies are all considered. Authors of single-setting studies explain how their findings relate to other settings.
Can I submit work that has been posted as a preprint?
Yes. Cite the preprint and its DOI in the cover letter.
Preparing a submission
Read the Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Policies before submitting.