Five years’ experience of an annual course on implementation science: an evaluation among course participants

BACKGROUND: Increasing interest in implementation science has generated a demand for education and training opportunities for researchers and practitioners in the field. However, few implementation science courses have been described or evaluated in the scientific literature. The aim of the present study was to provide a short- and long-term evaluation of the implementation training at Linköping University, Sweden. METHODS: Two data collections were carried out. In connection with the final seminar, a course evaluation form, including six items on satisfaction and suggestions for improvement, was distributed to the course participants, a total of 101 students from 2011 to 2015 (data collection 1), response rate 72%. A questionnaire including six items was distributed by e-mail to the same students in autumn 2016 (data collection 2), response rate 63%. Data from the two data collections were presented descriptively and analysed using the Kirkpatrick model consisting of four levels: reaction, learning, behaviour and results. RESULTS: The students were very positive immediately after course participation, rating high on overall perception of the course and the contents (reaction). The students also rated high on achievement of the course objectives and considered their knowledge in implementation science to be very good and to a high degree due to course participation (learning). Knowledge gained from the course was viewed to be useful (behaviour) and was applied to a considerable extent in research projects and work apart from research activities (results). CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of the doctoral-level implementation science course provided by Linköping University showed favourable results, both in the short and long term. The adapted version of the Kirkpatrick model was useful because it provided a structure for evaluation of the short- and long-term learning outcomes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-017-0618-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.