Implementation Research: The Implementation of Mass Drug Administration for the Elimination of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection in Bangladesh

Abstract

Implementation research is defined as the scientific approach to understanding and addressing barriers to effective and quality implementation of health interventions, strategies, and policies as well as methods of promoting the systematic application of research findings in practice. The field of implementation research is growing, but it is not well understood. To address the implementation problems of mass drug administration (MDA) against soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection in Bangladesh, we designed a study to explore the barriers and gaps that hinder the implementation outcomes (utilization and coverage) of MDA intervention. This study was designed based on wide range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods that can be applied in implementation research, as well as brief descriptions of methods specifically suitable for contextual settings of developing countries like Bangladesh. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and observation were used as the qualitative approach and semi-structured questionnaires with review of existing data were used as the quantitative approach. The study population included school-aged children with relevant parents, school teachers, health workers, community leaders, and MDA program managers. Mixed sampling methods were used to recruit the study population. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to examine the quantitative data and thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. This case describes the methodological approaches of implementation research and operational planning guidelines to address barriers and gaps of a public health intervention (MDA) and explains performance indicators of and resources for implementation research.

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