Background: Mental health (MH) problems such as depression and insomnia are prominent among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). They are associated with a negative impact on quality of life, higher health care costs and a poorer prognosis. Despite this most patients with CVD will not receive support or treatment for their MH problems. Studies in other patient groups have described internet based cognitive behavioral treatment (I-CBT) as a promising intervention, but I-CBT has not been tested in CVD patients. The I-CBT HEART research project aims specifically to develop and evaluate I-CBT programs for CVD patients with psychological distress. The programs, both of which are in early stages of clinical evaluation, respectively target patients with depressive symptoms and patients with insomnia. Two randomized controlled trials will be carried out, I-CBT for insomnia (HiT-IT) and I-CBT for depression (DOHART). Implementation research has shown overwhelming evidence of the difficulties that are often encountered in the diffusion and dissemination of novel treatments, such as I-CBT for CVD. To smooth the way for future use of a successful intervention in clinical practice, a better knowledge is needed of the factors that may hinder or support implementation in practice.

Purpose: The overall aim of the IMPLEMENT-IT study, a part of the I-CBT HEART project, is to achieve a better understanding of potential future implementation issues by exploring barriers and facilitators from different stakeholder perspectives that may be of importance in future implementation.

Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected in conjunction with the RCT studies HiT-IT and DOHART. Interviews with stakeholders at different levels focusing on perceptions of the role of eHealth in traditional healthcare in general, and of the I-CBT HEART intervention in particular. Informants are recruited in groups of healthcare-tasked representatives of political parties at the regional level, local decision-makers in higher healthcare administration, clinical decision-makers, healthcare profe ssionals (providers), as well as patients. Our intention is to measure implementation leadership,empowerment and implementation climate in the clinical contexts, but also to develop valid and reliable instruments to be used in future studies.

Conclusion: Studying factors that may potentially influence the implementation of a novel I-CBT program for treatment of MH problems in CVD patients through a mixed methods approach may assist the design of future implementation strategies in clinical cardiac care.