The Implementation Illusion: Why Public Health Programmes Appear Successful on Paper but Fail in Practice

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1. Verfasser: Mkhize, Dr Bonginkosi Theresa
Format: Recurso digital
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2025
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author Mkhize, Dr Bonginkosi Theresa
author_facet Mkhize, Dr Bonginkosi Theresa
contents <p>Public health programmes are frequently reported as successfully implemented based on compliance with plans, indicators, and reporting requirements. However, these claims of success often mask persistent gaps between policy intent and lived practice. This paper examines the phenomenon of the “implementation illusion,” where formal measures of success fail to reflect frontline realities and uneven outcomes. By interrogating how implementation success is defined, measured, and communicated, the paper highlights why programmes can appear effective on paper while failing to deliver meaningful impact in practice. The analysis offers system-level insights relevant to policymakers, programme managers, and researchers concerned with implementation failure and institutional learning in public health systems.</p>
format Recurso digital
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publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle The Implementation Illusion: Why Public Health Programmes Appear Successful on Paper but Fail in Practice
Mkhize, Dr Bonginkosi Theresa
health care policy
implementation failure
public health program
Policy–practice gap
Implementation illusion
Health systems
Institutional learning
<p>Public health programmes are frequently reported as successfully implemented based on compliance with plans, indicators, and reporting requirements. However, these claims of success often mask persistent gaps between policy intent and lived practice. This paper examines the phenomenon of the “implementation illusion,” where formal measures of success fail to reflect frontline realities and uneven outcomes. By interrogating how implementation success is defined, measured, and communicated, the paper highlights why programmes can appear effective on paper while failing to deliver meaningful impact in practice. The analysis offers system-level insights relevant to policymakers, programme managers, and researchers concerned with implementation failure and institutional learning in public health systems.</p>
title The Implementation Illusion: Why Public Health Programmes Appear Successful on Paper but Fail in Practice
topic health care policy
implementation failure
public health program
Policy–practice gap
Implementation illusion
Health systems
Institutional learning
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18015319