Implementation research in the area of early childhood: scoping review

Objective To systematically map implementation research focusing on interventions aimed at early childhood development, its main characteristics and implementation strategies. Methods A scoping review of the global literature was planned and performed in accordance with recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The search was carried out in nine electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Health System Evidence, Social Systems Evidence, Cochrane, ERIC and CINHAL and VHL) from the beginning of indexing until August 2021. Results The searches mapped 4,105 references, 2,805 of which were unrepeated. After screening, 211 studies were read in full and 82 included. The health sector was the most frequent in interventions, followed by education and social services. Programs aimed at childhood development and strategies focused on parenting, family and nutrition were the main interventions. In total, 89.0% presented children as direct beneficiaries of the strategies. The average duration of interventions was 14.5 months and 25.6% of studies based their methodology on frameworks to analyze the implementation of interventions. Half analyzed adaptations of interventions or programs, while 29.3% cited equity aspects of implementation. Conclusion This scoping review allowed the analysis of a set of interventions aimed at early childhood, demonstrating the potential of implementation research on early childhood development programs, identifying more appropriate strategies to the contexts and the reach of intended objectives, based on incorporation of implementation outcomes.