Project description:BackgroundImplementation models, frameworks, and theories recognize the importance of activities that facilitate implementation success. However, little is known about internal facilitation activities that hospital personnel engage in during implementation efforts.PurposeThe aim of the study was to examine internal facilitation activities at 10 critical access hospitals in rural Iowa during their implementation of TeamSTEPPS, a patient safety intervention, and to identify characteristics that distinguish different types of facilitation activities.MethodsWe followed 10 critical access hospitals for 2 years after the onset of implementation, conducting quarterly interviews with key informants. On the basis of the transcripts from the first two quarters, a coding template was developed using inductive analyses. The template was then applied deductively to code all interview transcripts. Using comparative analysis, we examined the characteristics that distinguish between the facilitation types.ResultsWe identified four types of facilitation activities-Leadership, Buy-in, Customization, and Accountability. Individuals and teams engaged in different types of facilitation activities, both in a planned and an ad hoc manner. These activities targeted at both people and practices and exhibited varying temporal patterns (start and peak time).ConclusionThere are four types of facilitation activities that hospitals engage in while implementing evidence-based practices, offering a parsimonious way to characterize facilitation activities. New theoretical and empirical research opportunities are discussed.Practice implicationsUnderstanding the types of facilitation activities and their distinguishing characteristics can assist managers in planning and executing implementations of evidence-based interventions.
Project description:BackgroundPlanning for extreme surges in demand for hospital care of patients requiring urgent life-saving treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), while retaining capacity for other emergency conditions, is one of the most challenging tasks faced by health care providers and policymakers during the pandemic. Health systems must be well-prepared to cope with large and sudden changes in demand by implementing interventions to ensure adequate access to care. We developed the first planning tool for the COVID-19 pandemic to account for how hospital provision interventions (such as cancelling elective surgery, setting up field hospitals, or hiring retired staff) will affect the capacity of hospitals to provide life-saving care.MethodsWe conducted a review of interventions implemented or considered in 12 European countries in March to April 2020, an evaluation of their impact on capacity, and a review of key parameters in the care of COVID-19 patients. This information was used to develop a planner capable of estimating the impact of specific interventions on doctors, nurses, beds, and respiratory support equipment. We applied this to a scenario-based case study of 1 intervention, the set-up of field hospitals in England, under varying levels of COVID-19 patients.ResultsThe Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics pandemic planner is a hospital planning tool that allows hospital administrators, policymakers, and other decision-makers to calculate the amount of capacity in terms of beds, staff, and crucial medical equipment obtained by implementing the interventions. Flexible assumptions on baseline capacity, the number of hospitalizations, staff-to-beds ratios, and staff absences due to COVID-19 make the planner adaptable to multiple settings. The results of the case study show that while field hospitals alleviate the burden on the number of beds available, this intervention is futile unless the deficit of critical care nurses is addressed first.DiscussionThe tool supports decision-makers in delivering a fast and effective response to the pandemic. The unique contribution of the planner is that it allows users to compare the impact of interventions that change some or all inputs.
Project description:Lay abstractInterventions for children with autism spectrum disorder are complex and often are not implemented successfully within schools. When new practices are introduced in schools, they often are layered on top of existing practices, with little attention paid to how introducing new practices affects the use of existing practices. This study evaluated how introducing a computer-assisted intervention, called TeachTown:Basics, affected the use of other evidence-based practices in autism support classrooms. We compared how often teachers reported using a set of evidence-based practices in classrooms that either had access to TeachTown:Basics or did not have the program. We found that teachers who had access to the computer-assisted intervention reported using the other evidence-based practices less often as the school year progressed. Teachers also reported that they liked the computer-assisted intervention, found it easy to use, and that it helped overcome challenges to implementing other evidence-based practices. This is important because the computer-assisted intervention did not improve child outcomes in a previous study and indicates that teachers may use interventions that are appealing and easier to implement, even when they do not have evidence to support their effectiveness. These findings support the idea of interventions' complexity and how well the intervention fits within the classroom affect how teachers use it and highlight the need to develop school-based interventions that both appeal to the practitioner and improve child outcomes.
Project description:A systematic review was conducted to identify determinants (barriers and facilitators) of implementing evidence-based psychosocial interventions for children and youth who experience emotional or behavioral difficulties due to trauma exposure. Determinants were coded, abstracted, and synthesized using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework. Twenty-three articles were included, all of which examined implementation of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools. This review identified multilevel and multiphase determinants that can be addressed by implementation strategies to improve implementation and clinical outcomes, and suggests how future studies might address gaps in the evidence base.
Project description:BackgroundThe third sector is becoming a growing provider of public, social, and health services. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of third sector organisations (TSOs), and their capacity to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs). Understanding implementation aspects of service delivery remains an important issue in clinical practice, but is poorly understood in the context of TSOs. This is problematic, since implementation issues are known to be critical for effective intervention outcomes.ObjectivesTo identify and synthesise existing research on what barriers and facilitators influence the implementation process of TSOs delivering EBIs.MethodsThis review is reported according to PRISMA guidelines and was pre-registered in PROSPERO. Key databases were searched using relevant terms, experts in the field were contacted, and websites were reviewed. All identified studies were double-screened, and data were extracted independently by two authors. Included studies were synthesised using thematic analysis and were quality appraised.ResultsThirty-one studies were included, most of which were conducted in North America. The thematic synthesis identified resource limitations, in particular staff and finance, to be the most reported barrier to TSOs implementing EBIs. Organisational culture, including factors such as alignment between the mission of the TSO and EBI, and support/prioritisation of the implementation process were the most reported facilitators. These findings generalise across the included studies and are robust to study quality assessment.ConclusionsWhile it is often assumed that good outcomes follow when implementing interventions that have been developed and tested according to best practice, little attention has been paid to how EBIs are best transported, contextualised, and implemented by third sector providers. This systematic review found that TSOs faced considerable challenges in implementing EBIs, which were primarily a lack of support and expertise, and unclear/insufficient guidelines on how to adapt EBIs to different populations. To address these challenges, it is important to engage with central stakeholders, such as funders, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, to discuss how these needs can be met.Trial registrationPROSPERO: CRD42017073090 .
Project description:BackgroundDelivery of preventive services sometimes falls short of guideline recommendations.PurposeTo evaluate the multilevel factors associated with evidence-based preventive service delivery during periodic health examinations (PHEs).MethodsPrimary care physicians were recruited from an integrated delivery system in southeast Michigan. Audio recordings of PHE office visits conducted from 2007 to 2009 were used to ascertain physician recommendation for or delivery of 19 guideline-recommended preventive services. Alternating logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with service delivery. Data analyses were completed in 2011.ResultsAmong 484 PHE visits to 64 general internal medicine and family physicians by insured patients aged 50-80 years, there were 2662 services for which patients were due; 54% were recommended or delivered. Regression analyses indicated that the likelihood of service delivery decreased with patient age and with each concern the patient raised, and it increased with increasing BMI and with each additional minute after the scheduled appointment time the physician first presented. The likelihood was greater with patient-physician gender concordance and less if the physician used the electronic medical record in the exam room or had seen the patient in the past 12 months.ConclusionsA combination of patient, patient-physician relationship, and visit contextual factors are associated with preventive service delivery. Additional studies are warranted to understand the complex interplay of factors that support and compromise preventive service delivery.
Project description:•Less than a quarter of psychological interventions are developed based on evidence.•Evaluation of the effectiveness of existing online mental health resources is required.•Front-line healthcare providers experienced severe mental distress during COVID-19.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of a locally adapted evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) approach to implementation of smoking cessation guidelines into routine practice.Data sources/study settingWe used patient questionnaires, practice surveys, and administrative data in Veterans Health Administration (VA) primary care practices across five southwestern states.Study designIn a group-randomized trial of 18 VA facilities, matched on size and academic affiliation, we evaluated intervention practices' abilities to implement evidence-based smoking cessation care following structured evidence review, local priority setting, quality improvement plan development, practice facilitation, expert feedback, and monitoring. Control practices received mailed guidelines and VA audit-feedback reports as usual care.Data collectionTo represent the population of primary care-based smokers, we randomly sampled and screened 36,445 patients to identify and enroll eligible smokers at baseline (n=1,941) and follow-up at 12 months (n=1,080). We used computer-assisted telephone interviewing to collect smoking behavior, nicotine dependence, readiness to change, health status, and patient sociodemographics. We used practice surveys to measure structure and process changes, and administrative data to assess population utilization patterns.Principal findingsIntervention practices adopted multifaceted EBQI plans, but had difficulty implementing them, ultimately focusing on smoking cessation clinic referral strategies. While attendance rates increased (p<.0001), we found no intervention effect on smoking cessation.ConclusionsEBQI stimulated practices to increase smoking cessation clinic referrals and try other less evidence-based interventions that did not translate into improved quit rates at a population level.
Project description:AimThe study describes the fidelity of implementing a competency-based nursing education (CBNE) programme during the COVID-19 pandemic in a low-resource setting.DesignA descriptive case study research design integrating mixed methods underpinned by the fidelity of implementation framework was applied to assess teaching, learning and assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA survey, focus group and document analysis were applied to collect data from 16 educators, 128 students and eight administrators of a nursing education institution and accessing institutional documents. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and deductive content analysis and packaging the outcome of the study according to the five elements related to the fidelity of implementation framework.ResultsThe fidelity of implementing the CBNE programme was satisfactorily maintained as described in the fidelity of implementation framework. However, sequenced progression and programmatic assessments were not aligned with a CBNE programme within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Patient or public contributionThis paper proposes strategies to enhance the fidelity of implementing competency-based education during educational disruptions.
Project description:ObjectiveTo measure the extent to which the provision of mammograms was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and surrounding guidelines.Data sourcesDe-identified summary data derived from medical claims and eligibility files were provided by Independence Blue Cross for women receiving mammograms.Study designWe used a difference-in-differences approach to characterize the change in mammograms performed over time and a queueing formula to estimate the time to clear the queue of missed mammograms.Data collectionWe used data from the first 30 weeks of each year from 2018 to 2020.Principal findingsOver the 20 weeks following March 11, 2020, the volume of screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms fell by 58% and 38% of expected levels, on average. Lowest volumes were observed in week 15 (April 8 to 14), when screening and diagnostic mammograms fell by 99% and 74%, respectively. Volumes began to rebound in week 19 (May), with diagnostic mammograms reaching levels to similar to previous years' and screening mammograms remaining 14% below expectations. We estimate it will take a minimum of 22 weeks to clear the queue of missed mammograms in our study sample.ConclusionsThe provision of mammograms has been significantly disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.