Dissemination and implementation research in emergency medicine

Published medical research takes years to change clinical practice. The reasons for this evidence-to-practice gap are many. To address this gap, in recent years the field of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science has grown dramatically. D&I studies design and test strategies to accelerate the movement of new evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers into real-world clinical practice. This article summarizes the proceedings of sessions at the 2011 and 2012 annual meetings of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine that discussed D&I studies in emergency medicine. Examples of current studies are provided, along with a review of D&I methods, funding opportunities, and suggestions for future research.