Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jul 27:4:26334895231190855.
doi: 10.1177/26334895231190855. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.

Advancing research on teams and team effectiveness in implementation science: An application of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework

Elizabeth A McGuier  1 , David J Kolko  1 , Nicole A Stadnick  2   3   4 , Lauren Brookman-Frazee  2   3   4 , Courtney Benjamin Wolk  5   6 , Christina T Yuan  7 , C Shawn Burke  8 , Gregory A Aarons  2   3   4
Affiliations

Advancing research on teams and team effectiveness in implementation science: An application of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework

Elizabeth A McGuier et al. Implement Res Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Effective teams are essential to high-quality healthcare. However, teams, team-level constructs, and team effectiveness strategies are poorly delineated in implementation science theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs), hindering our understanding of how teams may influence implementation. The Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework is a flexible and accommodating framework that can facilitate the application of team effectiveness approaches in implementation science.

Main text: We define teams and provide an overview of key constructs in team effectiveness research. We describe ways to conceptualize different types of teams and team constructs relevant to implementation within the EPIS framework. Three case examples illustrate the application of EPIS to implementation studies involving teams. Within each study, we describe the structure of the team and how team constructs influenced implementation processes and outcomes.

Conclusions: Integrating teams and team constructs into the EPIS framework demonstrates how TMFs can be applied to advance our understanding of teams and implementation. Implementation strategies that target team effectiveness may improve implementation outcomes in team-based settings. Incorporation of teams into implementation TMFs is necessary to facilitate application of team effectiveness research in implementation science.

Keywords: EPIS; implementation outcomes; team; teamwork.

Plain language summary

Teams and team-level constructs are neglected in implementation theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs). This paper calls attention to the importance of teams in implementation research and practice and provides an overview of team effectiveness research for implementation science. We illustrate how the EPIS framework can be applied to advance our understanding of how teams influence implementation processes and outcomes. We identify future directions for research on teams and implementation, including developing and testing implementation strategies that focus on team effectiveness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: GAA is a member of the Implementation Research and Practice Editorial Board; all decisions on this paper were made by other editors. The authors declare that they have no other conflicting interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model of team effectiveness
Figure 2
Figure 2
Implementation Research Logic Model with examples of team constructs and team-focused implementation strategies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aarons G. A., Fettes D. L., Hurlburt M. S., Palinkas L. A., Gunderson L., Willging C. E., Chaffin M. J. (2014). Collaboration, negotiation, and coalescence for interagency-collaborative teams to scale-up evidence-based practice. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 43(6), 915–928. 10.1080/15374416.2013.876642 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aarons G. A., Hurlburt M., Horwitz S. M. (2011). Advancing a conceptual model of evidence-based practice implementation in public service sectors. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 38(1), 4–23. 10.1007/s10488-010-0327-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becan J. E., Bartkowski J. P., Knight D. K., Wiley T. R. A., DiClemente R., Ducharme L., Welsh W. N., Bowser D., McCollister K., Hiller M., Spaulding A. C., Flynn P. M., Swartzendruber A., Dickson M. F., Fisher J. H., Aarons G. A. (2018). A model for rigorously applying the exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment (EPIS) framework in the design and measurement of a large scale collaborative multi-site study. Health & Justice, 6(1), 9. 10.1186/s40352-018-0068-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benishek L. E., Lazzara E. H. (2019). Teams in a new era: Some considerations and implications. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1006. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01006 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bisbey T., Salas E. (2019). Team dynamics and processes in the workplace. In Oxford research encyclopedia of psychology. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.13 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources