Operational research as implementation science: definitions, challenges and research priorities.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Operations
• Implementation Science
• Systems Thinking

Background:

• Operational Research (OR) has been applied in healthcare since the 1950s.
• OR methods address complex operational and logistical challenges in healthcare delivery.
• Diverse applications include emergency medicine, patient scheduling, and hospital management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of Operational Research (OR) within implementation science.
• To identify and detail three key roles for OR grounded in system thinking.
• To address challenges and propose a research agenda for applied OR in implementation science.

Main Methods:

• System thinking approach to define OR roles.
• Illustrative case studies from mental health, emergency medicine, and stroke care.
• Analysis of challenges at organizational, interventional, and disciplinary levels.

Main Results:

• Identified three core roles for OR: structuring implementation problems, prospective evaluation of interventions, and strategic reconfiguration of health services.
• Highlighted challenges including lack of mutual understanding, limited evaluation of OR interventions, and insufficient service user involvement.
• Proposed a research agenda focusing on evaluating applied OR, liberating OR from specialist environments, and co-design with service users.

Conclusions:

• Operational Research (OR) offers valuable system thinking for improving health services.
• Addressing identified challenges is crucial for advancing the application of OR in implementation science.
• Future efforts should prioritize evaluation, broader integration, and user-centered design of OR models in healthcare.