Implementing Health Apps for Digital Public Health – An Implementation Science Approach Adopting the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

Apps are becoming an increasingly important component of modern Public Health and health care. However, successful implementation of apps does not come without challenges. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) provides a central typology to support the development of implementation theories and the examination of what works where and why in different contexts. The framework offers a reasonable structure for managing complex, interacting, multi-level, and transient states of constructs in the real world: It draws on constructs from other implementation theories and might be used to conduct formative evaluations or build a common body of knowledge for implementation thru various studies and settings. In a synthesis of the original English language text describing the CFIR, an attempt was made to break the constructs down into the shortest possible concise descriptions for the implementation of health care apps in a structured, selective process. The listed key constructs should help to develop successful implementation plans and models for health apps and show the complexity of a successful implementation. As a perspective article, the aim of the current piece is to present a viewpoint on using the CFIR as a potential support for implementing health apps.