ABSTRACT
Recognition of the difficulties involved in replicating evidencebased interventions is well documented in the literature within the medical field. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the translation of research findings into clinical practice remains one of the largest hurdles to improving the quality, efficiency, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health care (AHRQ, 1999). Promising research findings are often not translated into practice, and if they are, there is a significant time gap between study conclusion and practice adoption. This may be due, in part, to the complexity of the research design and lack of transferability of the model into non-research settings. In addition, benefits of a research study may be diminished when translated into real-world practice settings (Gill, 2005; Glasgow, 2003). RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) describes key elements researchers need to embrace in designing an intervention that can be translated into practice (Glasgow, 2003). Studies that assess the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance from inception of the design have a greater ability to readily translate their findings into practice.
