Conceptualizing Context and Intervention as a System in Implementation Science: Learning From Complexity Theory; Comment on "Stakeholder Perspectives of Attributes and Features of Context Relevant to Knowledge Translation in Health Settings: A Multi-country Analysis"

• Main Author: Lisa M. Pfadenhauer (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2322-5939; 10.34172/ijhpm.2021.147
• Keywords: context; implementation science; complexity theory; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: International Journal of Health Policy and Management, Vol 11, Iss 8, Pp 1570-1573 (2022)

In implementation science, implementation has been widely theorized and assessed. Context, on the other hand, usually played a minor role in the field and was usually conceptualized in a rather positivist way. Despite some promising efforts, there is a strong need to continue building theory on context and operationalizing the concept in implementation practice. I argue for the benefit of integrating complexity theory into our understanding of context in order to further our thinking about context and intervention as a system. This should be reflected by the way in which we build theory as well as apply this theory by employing methods that adequately account for complexity in systems.