Making Implementation Costing More Accessible: Initial Transdisciplinary Guidance for Researchers and Practitioners

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Health Economics
• Program Evaluation

Background:

• Lack of practical guidance for implementation cost evaluations.
• Need for tools and examples in assessing implementation costs.
• Importance of understanding costs for program adoption and sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop pragmatic approaches for assessing and reporting implementation costs.
• Provide guidance on conducting feasible and consistent cost evaluations.
• Support the application of costing in implementation studies.

Main Methods:

• Assembled a transdisciplinary team of implementation scientists and health economists.
• Used an iterative process of guideline development and feedback (similar to USE-EBPI).
• Identified key issues in implementation costing.

Main Results:

• Developed recommendations for identifying resource costs, using activity-based costing (ABC), valuing resources, and estimating replication/sustainment costs.
• Illustrated recommendations with a study example.
• Emphasized tailoring approaches to context and project needs.

Conclusions:

• Understanding implementation costs is crucial for program success.
• Real-world costing involves balancing precision and feasibility.
• Transdisciplinary guidance can improve pragmatic cost assessment and reporting.