"We have to save him": a qualitative study on care transition decisions in Ontario's long-term care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a global crisis in long-term care (LTC) with devastating consequences for residents, families and health professionals. In Ontario, Canada the severity of this crisis has prompted some care partners to move residents home with them for the duration or a portion of the pandemic. This type of care transition, from LTC to home care, was highly unusual pre-pandemic and arguably suboptimal for adults with complex needs. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study to better understand how residents, care partners, and health professionals made care transition decisions in Ontario's LTC settings during the pandemic. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 residents, care partners and health professionals who considered, supported or pursued a care transition in a LTC setting in Ontario during the pandemic. Crisis Decision Theory was used to structure the analysis. RESULTS: The results highlighted significant individual and group differences in how participants assessed the severity of the crisis and evaluated response options. Key factors that had an impact on decision trajectories included the individuals' emotional responses to the pandemic, personal identities and available resources. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study offer novel important insights regarding how individuals and groups perceive and respond to crisis events.

Optimizing the design and implementation of question prompt lists to support person-centred care: A scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Question prompt lists (QPLs) are lists of questions that patients may want to discuss with clinicians. QPLs support person-centred care and have been associated with many beneficial outcomes including improved patient question-asking, and the amount and quality of the information provided by clinicians. The purpose of this study was to review published research on QPLs to explore how QPL design and implementation can be optimized. METHODS: We performed a scoping review by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Joanna Briggs Database from inception to 8 May 2022, for English language studies of any design that evaluated QPLs. We used summary statistics and text to report study characteristics, and QPL design and implementation. RESULTS: We included 57 studies published from 1988 to 2022 by authors in 12 countries on a range of clinical topics. Of those, 56% provided the QPL, but few described how QPLs were developed. The number of questions varied widely (range 9-191). Most QPLs were single-page handouts (44%) but others ranged from 2 to 33 pages. Most studies implemented a QPL alone with no other accompanying strategy; most often in a print format before consultations by mail (18%) or in the waiting room (66%). Both patients and clinicians identified numerous benefits to patients of QPLs (e.g., increased patient confidence to ask questions, and patient satisfaction with communication or care received; and reduced anxiety about health status or treatment). To support use, patients desired access to QPLs in advance of clinician visits, and clinicians desired information/training on how to use the QPL and answer questions. Most (88%) studies reported at least one beneficial impact of QPLs. This was true even for single-page QPLs with few questions unaccompanied by other implementation strategies. Despite favourable views of QPLs, few studies assessed outcomes amongst clinicians. CONCLUSION: This review identified QPL characteristics and implementation strategies that may be associated with beneficial outcomes. Future research should confirm these findings via systematic review and explore the benefits of QPLs from the clinician's perspective. PATIENT/PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Following this review, we used the findings to develop a QPL on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and interviewed women and clinicians about QPL design including content, format, enablers and barriers of use, and potential outcomes including beneficial impacts and possible harms (will be published elsewhere).

The association of self-efficacy and health literacy to chemotherapy self-management behaviors and health service utilization.

BACKGROUND: Increasing demands on Canada's healthcare system require patients to take on more active roles in their health. Effective self-management has been linked to improved health outcomes; and there is evidence that effective behaviors, and subsequent healthcare utilization, are linked to self-efficacy and health literacy; however, this link has had minimal testing in the cancer context. Our aim is to examine the association between self-efficacy, health literacy, chemotherapy self-management behaviors, and health service utilization. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey that included validated measures of self-efficacy, health literacy, chemotherapy self-management, and health service utilization was completed by participants (N = 213). Multivariable modeling using hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the association between variables. RESULTS: Self-efficacy contributed significantly to explaining variation in chemotherapy self-management score. Health literacy was not significantly associated with any of the dependent variables. CONCLUSION: Participants with higher self-efficacy had higher chemotherapy self-management scores compared to participants with low self-efficacy. Contrary to evidence in the chronic disease self-management literature, this study demonstrated that health literacy was not associated with chemotherapy self-management behavior nor was it associated with self-efficacy. Building patient self-efficacy in the context of chemotherapy self-management could be particularly helpful both in the cancer center and in the domain of oral chemotherapy management at home where patients are required to take on significant responsibility for self-management.

Understanding low-value care and associated de-implementation processes: a qualitative study of Choosing Wisely Interventions across Canadian hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Choosing Wisely (CW) is an international movement comprised of campaigns in more than 20 countries to reduce low-value care (LVC). De-implementation, the reduction or removal of a healthcare practice that offers little to no benefit or causes harm, is an emerging field of research. Little is known about the factors which (i) sustain LVC; and (ii) the magnitude of the problem of LVC. In addition, little is known about the processes of de-implementation, and if and how these processes differ from implementation endeavours. The objective of this study was to explicate the myriad factors which impact the processes and outcomes of de-implementation initiatives that are designed to address national Choosing Wisely campaign recommendations. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals implementing Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations in healthcare settings in four provinces. The interview guide was developed using concepts from the literature and the Implementation Process Model (IPM) as a framework. All interviews were conducted virtually, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Seventeen Choosing Wisely team members were interviewed. Participants identified numerous provider factors, most notably habit, which sustain LVC. Contrary to reporting in recent studies, the majority of LVC in the sample was not 'patient facing'; therefore, patients were not a significant driver for the LVC, nor a barrier to reducing it. Participants detailed aspects of the magnitude of the problems of LVC, providing insight into the complexities and nuances of harm, resources and prevalence. Harm from potential or common infections, reactions, or overtreatment was viewed as the most significant types of harm. Unique factors influencing the processes of de-implementation reported were: influence of Choosing Wisely campaigns, availability of data, lack of targets and hard-coded interventions. CONCLUSIONS: This study explicates factors ranging from those which impact the maintenance of LVC to factors that impact the success of de-implementation interventions intended to reduce them. The findings draw attention to the significance of unintentional factors, highlight the importance of understanding the impact of harm and resources to reduce LVC and illuminate the overstated impact of patients in de-implementation literature. These findings illustrate the complexities of de-implementation.

The roles, activities and impacts of middle managers who function as knowledge brokers to improve care delivery and outcomes in healthcare organizations: a critical interpretive synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Middle Managers (MMs) are thought to play a pivotal role as knowledge brokers (KBs) in healthcare organizations. However, the role of MMs who function as KBs (MM KBs) in health care is under-studied. Research is needed that contributes to our understanding of how MMs broker knowledge in health care and what factors influence their KB efforts. METHODS: We used a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) approach to review both qualitative and quantitative studies to develop an organizing framework of how MMs enact the KB role in health care. We used compass questions to create a search strategy and electronic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Sciences Abstracts, ABI/INFORM, EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC and the Cochrane Library. Searching, sampling, and data analysis was an iterative process, using constant comparison, to synthesize the results. RESULTS: We included 41 articles (38 empirical studies and 3 conceptual papers) that met the eligibility criteria. No existing review was found on this topic. A synthesis of the studies revealed 12 MM KB roles and 63 associated activities beyond existing roles hypothesized by extant theory, and we elaborate on two MM KB roles: 1) convincing others of the need for, and benefit of an innovation or evidence-based practice; and 2) functioning as a strategic influencer. We identified organizational and individual factors that may influence the efforts of MM KBs in healthcare organizations. Additionally, we found that the MM KB role was associated with enhanced provider knowledge, and skills, as well as improved organizational outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that MMs do enact KB roles in healthcare settings to implement innovations and practice change. Our organizing framework offers a novel conceptualization of MM KBs that advances understanding of the emerging KB role that MMs play in healthcare organizations. In addition to roles, this study contributes to the extant literature by revealing factors that may influence the efforts and impacts of MM KBs in healthcare organizations. Future studies are required to refine and strengthen this framework. TRIAL REGISTRATION: A protocol for this review was not registered.

Implementing a complex hospital innovation: conceptual underpinnings, program design and implementation of a complex innovation in an international multi-site hospital trial.

BACKGROUND: Designing implementation programs that effectively integrate complex healthcare innovations into complex settings is a fundamental aspect of knowledge translation. We describe the development of a conceptually grounded implementation program for a complex healthcare innovation and its subsequent application in pediatric hospital settings. METHODS: We conducted multiple case observations of the application of the Phased Reciprocal Implementation Synergy Model (PRISM) framework in the design and operationalization of an implementation program for a complex hospital wide innovation in pediatric hospital settings. RESULTS: PRISM informed the design and delivery of 10 international hospital wide implementations of the complex innovation, BedsidePEWS. Implementation and innovation specific goals, overarching implementation program design principles, and a phased-based, customizable, and context responsive implementation program including innovation specific tools and evaluation plans emerged from the experience. CONCLUSION: Theoretically grounded implementation approaches customized for organizational contexts are feasible for the adoption and integration of this complex hospital-wide innovation. Attention to the fitting of the innovation to local practices, setting, organizational culture and end-user preferences can be achieved while maintaining the integrity of the innovation.

Influences of post-implementation factors on the sustainability, sustainment, and intra-organizational spread of complex interventions.

BACKGROUND: Complex interventions are increasingly applied to healthcare problems. Understanding of post-implementation sustainment, sustainability, and spread of interventions is limited. We examine these phenomena for a complex quality improvement initiative led by care aides in 7 care homes (long-term care homes) in Manitoba, Canada. We report on factors influencing these phenomena two years after implementation. METHODS: Data were collected in 2019 via small group interviews with unit- and care home-level managers (n = 11) from 6 of the 7 homes using the intervention. Interview participants discussed post-implementation factors that influenced continuing or abandoning core intervention elements (processes, behaviors) and key intervention benefits (outcomes, impact). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed with thematic analysis. RESULTS: Sustainment of core elements and sustainability of key benefits were observed in 5 of the 6 participating care homes. Intra-unit intervention spread occurred in 3 of 6 homes. Factors influencing sustainment, sustainability, and spread related to intervention teams, unit and care home, and the long-term care system. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contribute understanding on the importance of micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors to sustainability of key benefits and sustainment of some core processes. Inter-unit spread relates exclusively to meso-level factors of observability and practice change institutionalization. Interventions should be developed with post-implementation sustainability in mind and measures taken to protect against influences such as workforce instability and competing internal and external demands. Design should anticipate need to adapt interventions to strengthen post-implementation traction.

Health system learning with Indigenous communities: a study protocol for a two-eyed seeing review and multiple case study.

BACKGROUND: It is well documented that Canadian healthcare does not fully meet the health needs of First Nations, Inuit or Métis peoples. In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples concluded that Indigenous peoples' healthcare needs had to be met by strategies and systems that emerged from Indigenous worldviews and cultures. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission also called on health organizations to learn from Indigenous "knowledges" and integrate Indigenous worldviews alongside biomedicine and other western ways of knowing. These calls have not yet been met. Meanwhile, the dynamic of organizational learning from knowledges and evidence within communities is poorly understood-particularly when learning is from communities whose ways of knowing differ from those of the organization. Through an exploration of organizational and health system learning, this study will explore how organizations learn from the Indigenous communities they serve and contribute to (re-)conceptualizing the learning organization and learning health system in a way that privileges Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing. METHODS: This study will employ a two-eyed seeing literature review and embedded multiple case study. The review, based on Indigenous and western approaches to reviewing and synthesizing knowledges, will inform understanding of health system learning from different ways of knowing. The multiple case study will examine learning by three distinct government organizations in Northwest Territories, a jurisdiction in northern Canada, that have roles to support community health and wellness: TlįchÇ« Government, Gwich'in Tribal Council, and Government of Northwest Territories. Case study data will be collected via interviews, talking circles, and document analysis. A steering group, comprising TlįchÇ« and Gwich'in Elders and representatives from each of the three partner organizations, will guide all aspects of the project. DISCUSSION: Examining systems that create health disparities is an imperative for Canadian healthcare. In response, this study will help to identify and understand ways for organizations to learn from and respectfully apply knowledges and evidence held within Indigenous communities so that their health and wellness are supported. In this way, this study will help to guide health organizations in the listening and learning that is required to contribute to reconciliation in healthcare.

A qualitative descriptive study of the role of nurse, allied health and physician middle managers who function as knowledge brokers in hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge brokers (KB) are increasingly being employed in health care to implement evidence-based practice and improve quality of care. Middle managers (MMs) may play a KB role in the implementation of an innovative or evidence-based practice in hospitals. However, how MMs' broker knowledge in hospitals and their impact on practice has not been adequately studied. AIM: To describe the role that MMs play in brokering knowledge in hospitals and their impact. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to generate a detailed description of MM experiences as KBs in hospitals. Data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with MMs in Ontario, Canada. Participants were purposively sampled to ensure variation in MM characteristics and a diverse representation of perspectives. Data were collected and analyzed concurrently using an inductive constant comparative approach. RESULTS: Twenty-one MMs from teaching and non-teaching hospitals participated. MMs described 10 roles and activities they enacted in hospitals that aligned with published KB roles. We found differences across professional groups and hospital type. Teaching status emerged as a potential factor relating to how MM KBs were able to function within hospitals. MMs reported enhanced patient, provider, and organizational outcomes. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: Middle managers may play an important KB role in the implementation of evidence-based practice in hospitals. An improved understanding of the KB roles that MMs play may be important in boosting evidence base practice in health care to ultimately improve quality of care. Administrators need a better understanding of the current KB roles and activities MMs enact as this may lead to more organizational structures to support MM KBs in health care.

Seniors' campus continuums: local solutions for broad spectrum seniors care.

BACKGROUND: As demand and desire to "age-in-place" grows within an aging population, and new areas of need emerge, governments nationally and internationally are focusing effort and attention on innovative and integrative approaches to health and well-being. Seniors' Campus Continuums are models of care that seek to broaden access to an array of services and housing options to meet growing health and social needs of aging populations. The objective of this study is to increase understanding of this model and factors that influence their evolution, development, ongoing functioning and capacity to integrate care for older adults wishing to age in their own home and community. METHODS: This research uses a comparative case study approach across six-bounded cases offering four geographically co-located components (mixed housing options, internal and external community supports, and a long-term care home) in various contexts across Ontario, Canada. Onsite in-person and phone interviews with senior campus staff (N = 30), and campus partners (N = 11), enhanced by direct observation at campuses explored historical and current efforts to offer health, housing and social care continuums for older adults. RESULTS: Analysis highlighted eight key factors. Enabling factors include i. rich historical legacies of helping people in need; ii. organizational vision and readiness to capitalize on windows of opportunity; iii. leveraging organizational structure and capacity; iv. intentional physical and social design; v. broad services mix, amenities and innovative partnerships. Impeding factors include vi. policy hurdles and rigidities; vii. human resources shortages and inequities; and viii. funding limitations. A number of benefits afforded by campuses at different levels were also observed. CONCLUSION: Findings from this research highlight opportunities to optimize campus potential on many levels. At an individual level, campuses increase local access to a coordinated range of health and social care services, supports and housing options. At an organizational level, campuses offer enhanced collaboration opportunities across providers and partners to improve consistency and coordination of care, and improved access to shared resources, expertise and infrastructure. At a system level, campuses can address a diversity of health, social, financial, and housing needs to help seniors avoid premature or inappropriate use of higher intensity care settings.

Reimagining community relationships for organizational learning: a scoping review with implications for a learning health system.

BACKGROUND: Communities represent a highly relevant source of knowledge with regard to not only healthcare performance but also sociocultural context, yet their role in learning health systems has not been studied. Situating the learning health system as an organization, this paper explores the phenomenon of organizational learning from or with communities (defined as one of 'the people,' such as a town, a specific patient group or another group directly receiving a healthcare service). METHODS: We conducted a scoping review to determine what is known about organizational learning from or with communities that the organization serves, and to contribute to a more comprehensive evidence base for building and operating learning health systems. In March 2019, we systematically searched six academic databases and grey literature, applying no date limits, for English language materials that described organizational learning in relation to knowledge transfer between an organization and a community. Numerous variables were charted in Excel and synthesized using frequencies and thematic analysis. We updated this search in August 2020. RESULTS: In total, 42 documents were included in our analysis. We found a disproportionate emphasis on learning explicit knowledge from community rather than on tacit knowledge or learning in equal partnership with community. Our review also revealed inconsistently defined concepts, tenuously linked with their theoretical and empirical foundations. Our findings provide insight to understand the organization-community learning relationship, including motives and power differentials; types of knowledge to be learned; structures and processes for learning; and transformative learning outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our review makes a singular contribution to organizational learning literatures by drawing from diverse research disciplines such as health services, business and education to map what is known about learning from or with community. Broadly speaking, learning health systems literature would benefit from additional research and theory-building within a sociological paradigm so as to establish key concepts and associations to understand the nature of learning with community, as well as the practices that make it happen.

Development of an Implementation Process Model: a Delphi study.

BACKGROUND: There is general scarcity of research on key elements of implementation processes and the factors which impact implementation success. Implementation of healthcare interventions is a complex process. Tools to support implementation can facilitate this process and improve effectiveness of the interventions and clinical outcomes. Understanding the impact of implementation support tools is a critical aspect of this process. The objective of this study was to solicit knowledge and agreement from relevant implementation science and knowledge translation healthcare experts in order to develop a process model of key elements in the implementation process. METHODS: A two round, modified Delphi study involving international experts in knowledge translation and implementation (researchers, scientists, professors, decision-makers) was conducted. Participants rated and commented on all aspects of the process model, including the organization, content, scope, and structure. Delphi questions rated at 75% agreement or lower were reviewed and revised. Qualitative comments supported the restructuring and refinement. A second-round survey followed the same process as Round 1. RESULTS: Fifty-four experts participated in Round 1, and 32 experts participated in Round 2. Twelve percent (n = 6) of the Round 1 questions did not reach agreement. Key themes for revision and refinement were: stakeholder engagement throughout the process, iterative nature of the implementation process; importance of context; and importance of using guiding theories or frameworks. The process model was revised and refined based on the quantitative and qualitative data and reassessed by the experts in Round 2. Agreement was achieved on all items in Round 2 and the Delphi concluded. Additional feedback was obtained regarding terminology, target users and definition of the implementation process. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of agreement were attained for all sub-domains, elements, and sub-elements of the Implementation Process Model. This model will be used to develop an Implementation Support Tool to be used by healthcare providers to facilitate effective implementation and improved clinical outcomes.

Systems thinking in health technology assessment: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess how, and to what extent, a systems-level perspective is considered in decision-making processes for health interventions by illustrating how studies define the boundaries of the system in their analyses and by defining the decision-making context in which a systems-level perspective is undertaken. METHOD: We conducted a scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and EconLit were searched and key search concepts included decision making, system, and integration. Studies were classified according to an interpretation of the "system" of analysis used in each study based on a four-level model of the health system (patient, care team, organization, and/or policy environment) and using categories (based on intervention type and system impacts considered) to describe the decision-making context. RESULTS: A total of 2,664 articles were identified and 29 were included for analysis. Most studies (16/29; 55%) considered multiple levels of the health system (i.e., patient, care team, organization, environment) in their analysis and assessed multiple classes of interventions versus a single class of intervention (e.g., pharmaceuticals, screening programs). Approximately half (15/29; 52%) of the studies assessed the influence of policy options on the system as a whole, and the other half assessed the impact of interventions on other phases of the disease pathway or life trajectory (14/29; 48%). CONCLUSIONS: We found that systems thinking is not common in areas where health technology assessments (HTAs) are typically conducted. Against this background, our study demonstrates the need for future conceptualizations and interpretations of systems thinking in HTA.

"It's More than Just Needing money": The Value of Supporting Networks of Care.

It is well established in research, practice, and policy that unpaid caregivers (family and friends of people with care needs) experience stress in their role. Supports that have been put in place by policy planners and program developers to support caregivers may not be accessed by caregivers at all or may do little to reduce their stress. Accessing personal resources (education, finances), in addition to social resources (individual connections) and societal resources (community supports) are critical in fostering resilience in caregivers (helping them adapt to stress and adversity). Social capital theorists argue that creating connections at various levels can improve access to resources. This research, through qualitative interviews (n = 21), identifies the different levels of resources required to address the needs of caregivers. Our findings indicate that interventions that focus on access to personal-level resources (education, funding) are important, but are on their own insufficient. Of more importance were interventions that work to improve relationships between formal providers and families; access to interdisciplinary teams; cross-sectoral collaborations; and inter-organization relationships, highlighting that a system that works together is likely to improve caregivers' access to resources.

What is known about paediatric nurse burnout: a scoping review.

Burnout in healthcare providers has impacts at the level of the individual provider, patient, and organization. While there is a substantial body of literature on burnout in healthcare providers, burnout in pediatric nurses has received less attention. This subpopulation may be unique from adult care nurses because of the specialized nature of providing care to children who are typically seen as a vulnerable population, the high potential for empathetic engagement, and the inherent complexities in the relationships with families. Thus, the aim of this scoping review was to investigate, among pediatric nurses, (i) the prevalence and/or degree of burnout, (ii) the factors related to burnout, (iii) the outcomes of burnout, and (iv) the interventions that have been applied to prevent and/or mitigate burnout. This scoping review was performed according to the PRISMA Guidelines Scoping Review Extension. CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ASSIA, and The Cochrane Library were searched on 3 November 2018 to identify relevant quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies on pediatric nurse burnout. Our search identified 78 studies for inclusion in the analysis. Across the included studies, burnout was prevalent in pediatric nurses. A number of factors were identified as impacting burnout including nurse demographics, work environment, and work attitudes. Similarly, a number of outcomes of burnout were identified including nurse retention, nurse well-being, patient safety, and patient-family satisfaction. Unfortunately, there was little evidence of effective interventions to address pediatric nurse burnout. Given the prevalence and impact of burnout on a variety of important outcomes, it is imperative that nursing schools, nursing management, healthcare organizations, and nursing professional associations work to develop and test the interventions to address key attitudinal and environmental factors that are most relevant to pediatric nurses.

How to identify, incorporate and report patient preferences in clinical guidelines: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines optimize care delivery and outcomes. Guidelines support patient engagement and adherence if they reflect patient preferences for treatment options, risks and benefits. Many guidelines do not address patient preferences. Developers require insight on how to develop such guidelines. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a scoping review on how to identify, incorporate and report patient preferences in guidelines. SEARCH: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, OpenGrey and GreyLit from 2010 to November 2019. ELIGIBILITY: We included English language studies describing patient preferences and guidelines. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We reported approaches for and determinants and impacts of identifying patient preferences using summary statistics and text, and interpreted findings using a conceptual framework of patient engagement in guideline development. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included: 2 consulted patients and providers about patient engagement approaches, and 14 identified patient preferences (42.9%) or methods for doing so (71.4%). Studies employed single (57.1%) or multiple (42.9%) methods for identifying preferences. Eight (57.1%) incorporated preferences in one aspect of guideline development, while 6 (42.9%) incorporated preferences in multiple ways, most commonly to identify questions, benefits or harms, and generate recommendations. Studies did not address patient engagement in many guideline development steps. Included studies were too few to establish the best approaches for identifying or incorporating preferences. Fewer than half of the studies (7, 43.8%) explored barriers. None examined reporting preferences in guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Research is needed to establish the single or multiple approaches that result in incorporating and reporting preferences in all guideline development steps.

Conceptualising the initiation of researcher and research user partnerships: a meta-narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Integrated knowledge translation refers to researcher and research user partnerships to co-generate and implement knowledge. This type of partnership may be critical to success in increasing knowledge use and impact, but the conceptualisation of its initiation has not been fully developed. Initiating this type of partnership has proven to be challenging but crucial to its success. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-narrative review of partnership initiation concepts, processes, enablers, barriers and outcomes in the disciplines of healthcare and social sciences where examples of researcher and research user partnerships were found. METHODS: Seven research traditions were identified. Three were in the discipline of social sciences (including psychology, education and business) and five were in the discipline of healthcare (including medicine, nursing, public health, health services research). Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ABI Inform, ERIC, PsychInfo and the Cochrane Library on June 9, 2017. Fifty titles and abstracts were screened in triplicate; data were extracted from three records in duplicate. Narratives comprised of study characteristics and conceptual and empirical findings across traditions were tabulated, summarised and compared. RESULTS: A total of 7779 unique results were identified and 17 reviews published from 1998 to 2017 were eligible. All reviews identified a partnership initiation phase referred to as 'early' or 'developmental', or more vaguely as 'fuzzy', across six traditions - integrated knowledge translation, action research, stakeholder engagement, knowledge transfer, team initiation and shared mental models. The partnership initiation processes, enablers, barriers and outcomes were common to multiple narratives and summarised in a Partnership Initiation Conceptual Framework. Our review revealed limited use or generation of theory in most included reviews, and little empirical evidence testing the links between partnership initiation processes, enablers or barriers, and outcomes for the purpose of describing successful researcher and research user partnership initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Narratives across multiple research traditions revealed similar integrated knowledge translation initiation processes, enablers, barriers and outcomes, which were captured in a conceptual framework that can be employed by researchers and research users to study and launch partnerships. While partnership initiation was recognised, it remains vaguely conceptualised despite lengthy research in several fields of study. Ongoing research of partnership initiation is needed to identify or generate relevant theory, and to empirically establish outcomes and the determinants of those outcomes.

Initiation is recognized as a fundamental early phase of integrated knowledge translation (IKT): qualitative interviews with researchers and research users in IKT partnerships.

BACKGROUND: Health care researcher-research user partnerships, referred to as integrated knowledge translation (IKT), have been adopted on an international basis, and are an effective means of co-generating and implementing evidence into policy and practice. Prior research suggests that an initiation period is essential for establishing functional partnerships. To characterize IKT initiation and describe determinants of IKT initiation success, this study explored IKT initiation processes, enablers, and barriers among researchers and research users involved in IKT partnerships. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative approach was used compliant with COREQ standards. Canadian researchers and research users in research collaborations were identified on publicly-available directories and web sites, and referred by those interviewed. They were asked to describe how partnerships were initiated, influencing factors, the length of initiation, and interventions needed to support initiation. Sampling was concurrent with data collection and analysis to achieve thematic saturation. Data were analyzed using constant comparative technique by all members of the research team. RESULTS: In total, 22 individuals from 6 provinces were interviewed (9 researchers, 11 research users, 2 connectors). They confirmed that IKT initiation is a distinct early phase of partnerships. The period ranged from 6 months to 2 years for 75.0% of participants in pre-existing partnerships, to 6 years for newly-formed partnerships. High-level themes were: Newly identifying and securing partners is an intensive process; Processes and activities take place over a protracted period through multiple interactions; Identifying and engaging committed partners is reliant on funding; and Partnership building is challenged by maintaining continuity and enthusiasm. Participants underscored the need for an IKT partner matching forum, IKT initiation toolkit, and funding for non-research activities required during IKT initiation to establish functional researcher-research user partnerships. Themes were largely similar regardless of participant years of experience with IKT or being involved in a new versus pre-existing partnership. CONCLUSIONS: IKT initiation is a recognized and important early phase of IKT that establishes functional partnerships, and once established, ongoing partnership for subsequent projects is likely. Further research is needed to develop and evaluate approaches recommended by participants for stimulating IKT initiation.

Health literacy and cancer self-management behaviors: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Increasing demands on health care systems require patients to take on more active roles in their health. Effective self-management has been linked to improved health outcomes, and evidence shows that effective self-management is linked to health literacy (HL). HL is an important predictor of successful self-management in other chronic diseases but has had minimal testing in cancer. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted to examine and summarize what is known about the association between HL and self-management behaviors and health service utilization in the cancer setting. The methodological framework articulated by Arksey and O'Malley was used and was further refined with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Inclusion criteria included the following: peer review; publication in English; and adult patients and caregivers of all races, ethnicities, and cultural groups. Use of a validated instrument to measure HL was required. RESULTS: The search yielded 2414 articles. After the removal of duplicates and the performance of title scans and abstract reviews, the number was reduced to 44. Of the 44 full-text articles reviewed, 17 met the inclusion criteria. A number of important self-management behaviors and related outcomes were found to be associated with HL. These included the uptake of cancer screening, the receipt of prescribed chemotherapy, and a greater risk of postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: This literature review shows that HL is associated with important self-management behaviors in cancer. The implications of these associations for individuals with inadequate HL and for the health care system are significant. More research is needed to explore these associations.

Relationships between work outcomes, work attitudes and work environments of health support workers in Ontario long-term care and home and community care settings.

BACKGROUND: Our overarching study objective is to further our understanding of the work psychology of Health Support Workers (HSWs) in long-term care and home and community care settings in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, we seek novel insights about the relationships among aspects of these workers' work environments, their work attitudes, and work outcomes in the interests of informing the development of human resource programs to enhance elder care. METHODS: We conducted a path analysis of data collected via a survey administered to a convenience sample of Ontario HSWs engaged in the delivery of elder care over July-August 2015. RESULTS: HSWs' work outcomes, including intent to stay, organizational citizenship behaviors, and performance, are directly and significantly related to their work attitudes, including job satisfaction, work engagement, and affective organizational commitment. These in turn are related to how HSWs perceive their work environments including their quality of work life (QWL), their perceptions of supervisor support, and their perceptions of workplace safety. CONCLUSIONS: HSWs' work environments are within the power of managers to modify. Our analysis suggests that QWL, perceptions of supervisor support, and perceptions of workplace safety present particularly promising means by which to influence HSWs' work attitudes and work outcomes. Furthermore, even modest changes to some aspects of the work environment stand to precipitate a cascade of positive effects on work outcomes through work attitudes.