Traveling Without a Map: An Incomplete History of the Road to Implementation Science and Where We May Go from Here

Abstract

This editorial provides a brief history of mental health services research over the last 30 years and how findings from large-scale studies shocked the field and led to the lines of inquiry culminating in current implementation science research. I review the manuscripts published in this special issue of Administration and Policy in Mental Health in light of that history and usethese studies as a way to assess the state of the field. Finally, I present five takeaways extracted from these articles that may be useful in considering future directions for implementation research.