Course Syllabus
Below is a syllabus template that includes WSU's required syllabus elements. Please complete all items highlighted in yellow.
Title of Course Turning Evidence into Action: Implementation Science for Behavioral Health
Prefix and Number CBH/PUBHLTH 458
Semester and Year [tbd]
Number of Credit Hours 3
Prerequisites Introductory course in public health, prevention science, or research methods, or instructor permission.
Course Details
Day and Time: [tbd]
Meeting Location: [tbd]
Instructor Contact Information
Instructor Name: Ekaterina Burduli
Instructor Contact Information: HERB 454; eburduli@wsu.edu
Instructor Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]
TA Name: [tbd]
TA Contact Information: [office location, phone, email]: [tbd]
TA Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]
Course Description
This course introduces undergraduate students to the field of implementation science, with an emphasis on behavioral health applications. Students will learn how evidence-based interventions move from research into practice. Students will examine the processes, frameworks, and strategies that support the adoption, integration, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in public health practice. Students will focus on applied concepts through case studies, stakeholder mapping, and implementation planning. By the end of the course, students will understand the challenges and opportunities of moving interventions from research to practice and will be able to apply implementation science tools to real-world behavioral health issues.
Course Materials
Books: Brownson, R.C., Colditz, G.A., & Proctor, E.K. (2018). Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health: Translating Science to Practice (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Other Materials: Selected journal articles and case studies (posted on Canvas).
Fees: None
|
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:) |
Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes | Assessment of the Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
|
Define core concepts of implementation science (evidence-to-practice gap, frameworks, strategies, outcomes). |
Weeks 1-5 |
Assignments, Exam 1, Paper, Presentation |
|
Apply major implementation frameworks (CFIR, EPIS, RE-AIM, SIC) to public health case studies. |
Weeks 3-8 |
Assignments, Paper, and Presentation |
|
Identify and analyze barriers and facilitators to implementation at individual, organizational, and systems levels. |
Weeks 4-10 |
Assignments, Exams, Paper |
|
Select and justify implementation strategies (ERIC taxonomy) for a given public health challenge. |
Weeks 5-12 |
Assignments, Paper, Presentation |
|
Recognize and evaluate ethical and equity-related issues in implementation, including cultural adaptation and sustainability. |
Weeks 11-16 |
Assignments, Exam 2, Paper |
|
Week |
Topic |
Readings |
Activities/Assignments |
|
1 |
Course Overview & Intro to Implementation Science |
Brownson Ch.1 |
Assignment 1: Identify a public health intervention of interest and describe why implementation matters for its success. |
|
2 |
Evidence to Practice Gap |
Brownson Ch.2 |
Case discussion: What makes an intervention “evidence-based”? |
|
3 |
Implementation Frameworks Overview (CFIR, EPIS, RE-AIM, SIC) |
Brownson Ch.3 + article |
Assignment 2: Framework mapping exercise |
|
4 |
Determinants of Implementation (barriers & facilitators) |
Brownson Ch.5 |
Assignment 3: Stakeholder mapping |
|
5 |
Implementation Strategies (ERIC taxonomy) |
Brownson Ch.6 + article |
Assignment 4: Match strategies to barriers |
|
6 |
Study Designs in Implementation Research |
Brownson Ch.7 |
Exam 1 |
|
7 |
Implementation Outcomes (Proctor et al.) |
Brownson Ch.8 + article |
Assignment 5: Select an intervention and define outcomes |
|
8 |
Case Study: Opioid Use Disorder & Behavioral Health Interventions |
Article |
Case analysis workshop |
|
9 |
Fidelity & Adaptation |
Brownson Ch.9 + article |
Assignment 6: Adaptation plan |
|
10 |
Implementation in Community Settings |
Brownson Ch.10 |
Guest speaker |
|
11 |
Policy & Systems Approaches |
Article |
Assignment 7: Policy vs. practice levers |
|
12 |
Equity & Implementation Science |
Brownson Ch.12 + article |
Exam 2 |
|
13 |
Measurement in Implementation |
Brownson Ch.13 |
Assignment 8: Select measures for outcomes |
|
14 |
Sustainability & Scale-up |
Brownson Ch.14 + article |
Draft implementation plan |
|
15 |
Student Presentations |
– |
Final Presentations |
|
16 |
Finals week |
– |
Final Paper Due |
Expectations for Student Effort
For every hour of in-class instruction, or equivalent online instruction, students should expect at least 2-3 hours of outside class course preparation in the form of reading, course assignments, and review of previous materials.
Grading [add more lines if necessary]
| Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc) | Points | Percent of Overall Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments (8 x 10 points each) | 80 | 27% |
| Exams (2 x 50 points each) | 100 | 33% |
| Final Paper | 50 | 17% |
| Final Presentation | 50 | 17% |
| Attendance and Participation | 20 | 7% |
| Grade | Percent | Grade | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 95-100% | C | 73-75% |
| A- | 90-94% | C- | 70-72% |
| B+ | 86-89% | D+ | 66-69% |
| B | 83-85% | D | 60-65% |
| B- | 80-82% | F | 0-59% |
| C+ | 76-79% |
Standard rounding procedures will be applied to the percentages in order to calculate grades
Attendance and Make-Up Policy
Active participation in class discussions, small group activities, and workshops is essential, as these sessions provide hands-on opportunities to practice applying measurement concepts to real-world public health scenarios. Attendance and engaged participation will be considered in the final grade.
Class periods will be highly interactive. Students will be expected to come prepared with a positive, respectful attitude and willingness to cooperate and communicate with all members of the class. They will be expected to come prepared having read and completed any assignments. I encourage you to make a transformation in the way you use this information to make you a better practitioner. Don’t stay stagnant in your practice; don’t be afraid to try new things. Learning is best facilitated through challenge and practice. Therefore, participation in discussions and group work will make up a portion of the final evaluation score. Students are expected to be present and on time to all class sessions. If students will not be able to attend class they must contact me prior to that session or the absence will be entered as unexcused. A deduction of points for each unexcused absence will be taken from the total points at the end of the semester.
Make-Up Exam Policies: Don’t miss the scheduled exams. Make-up exams will be given for reasonable absences which include participation in school sponsored events (e.g., conferences, clinical experience), illness, family emergencies, etc. To notify me of absence please contact me prior to the scheduled exam.
***Deadlines for assignments are typically set at 11:59 p.m. on Friday night, However, I know life happens and sometimes you need a bit of extra time, so I will leave the submission links open until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday nights. Anything that is submitted after the official deadline but before the link closes will be a late submission and will be accepted but have 20% deducted from the grade. You don’t have to request permission or provide an excuse to use this late submission option while the Canvas link is still open. If you need more time after the Canvas link has closed on Sunday night, please reach out and let me know so we can figure something out.***
Academic Integrity Statement
You are responsible for reading WSU's Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:
-[All members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Students are responsible for understanding the full Academic Integrity statement found online at vpue.wsu.edu/policies/statements/#academic-integrity. Students who violate WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy (identified in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 504-26-010(3) and -404) will receive an F as a final grade in this course, will not have the option to withdraw from the course pending an appeal, and will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. If you have any questions about what is and is not allowed in the course, you should ask course instructors.
Presenting the information, ideas, or phrasing of another person as your own work without proper acknowledgment of the source. Our policy makes no distinction between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. In my experience, most students commit "academic integrity violations" for one of two reasons - either they genuinely do not understand how to correctly cite and quote other people's writing, or they have run out of time on an assignment. Both are wholly avoidable, and I would love to help you avoid them! If you in the first category and are not entirely sure about where research stops and plagiarism starts, there are good resources at UCLALinks to an external site., OnlineColleges.net,Links to an external site. and at WSU's Community Standards CenterLinks to an external site. I am also happy to answer questions about this if you need clarification. If you are in the second category and have fallen behind or got swamped with work, please just reach out and ask for an extension, which I am essentially always happy to grant. The deadlines for assignments are because I need to break assessments up so that they can occur close to when the content was taught and so that my grading load is distributed somewhat evenly throughout the semester. Having a student take an extra week or two here and there is not a big deal at all.
Consequences of plagiarism or other academic integrity violations may include penalties such as losing all points on the assignment or being reported to the Community Conduct Center. Dealing with these violations is no fun for me and no fun for the student, so let's just steer clear and spend our time together teaching and learning instead.]
-Be reported to the Center for Community Standards
-Have the right to appeal my decision
-Not be able to drop the course of withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished
If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.
If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.