Editorial: Tailoring in implementation science

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Editorial on the Research Topic Tailoring in implementation scienceIt is commonly accepted that a "one size fits all" approach to implementing researchsupported interventions (RSIs) in routine health care settings is inadequate.Instead, scholars have called for "tailoring" as a means of improving the fit between an intervention and the context in which it is implemented.Tailored implementation is a prospective process involving the (1) identification and prioritization of barriers and/or facilitators (i.e., determinants) likely to influence the implementation of RSIs and (2) selection, operationalization, and application of implementation strategies likely to address the identified determinants (1).While this promise of tailoring may appear sensible, the evidence of its effectiveness is variable and, at best, modest (2).This hampers our understanding of how tailoring works, for whom, under which conditions, and in what way and of how it can best be applied across the pathways of an RSI to maximize its potential effect.This Research Topic seeks to enhance our understanding of tailoring in implementation science, by drawing attention to the knowledge gaps that surround the concept of tailoring and showcasing real-world examples of practicing tailoring in health care studies.Out of its eight contributions, three alert to aspects of tailoring that remain insufficiently studied and require further conceptual development.Nilsen et al. start off these contributions by encouraging theory use in tailoring.They argue that successful implementation requires the selection and design of implementation strategies based on appropriate theories to achieve intended individual or organizational behavior changes.The authors emphasize that theory use too limited in scope or derived from inaccurate assumptions about behaviors in question may lead to implementation challenges or failure.They recommend combining insights from various theories to consider different influences on behaviors and to use these insights when developing and tailoring implementation strategies.Complementary to this behavior focus, Metz et al. remind us that tailoring also requires attending to less visible influences present among implementers and implementing organizations and systems.These are the mental models of and the relationships among implementers and the climate characterizing their implementation efforts, all of which are potential determinants that influence tailoring but are difficult to grasp.