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Results for “Implementation”

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At least 1,135 records · Page 63Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

Are smoke-free policies implemented and adhered to at sporting venues?

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the level of implementation of and adherence to smoke-free policies in two major sporting venues in Perth. METHOD: Smoking status and attitude toward the smoke-free policies in the venues were determined in a random sample of spectators as they entered each venue. An observational study of randomly selected non-smoking seated areas in each venue was conducted on the same day to determine compliance with smoke-free policies. A butt-count was conducted to validate these observations. RESULTS: There was a high level of both awareness and agreement with the smoke-free policies, however, this level of agreement was higher in non-smokers than smokers. The results of the observational study and the butt-count indicated that the policies were implemented and there was a high level of adherence with the smoke-free policy at both venues. CONCLUSION: The results provide further evidence that smoke-free policies in sporting venues are both supported and adhered to by spectators. IMPLICATIONS: The implementation of the smoke-free policies at venues is highly effective in protecting non-smokers from the effects of environmental tobacco smoke.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Implementation of the Australian core public health functions in rural Western Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the implementation of the Australian core functions of public health in rural Western Australia. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys (n=26) and semi-structured key informant interviews (n=64) with public health practitioners throughout each of the eight rural health regions in Western Australia. A scoring system was utilised to categorise responses that were frequently part of current practice (score=2), sometimes undertaken (score=1) and rare or not undertaken at all (score=0). RESULTS: Functions with reasonably good coverage (mean score 1.0) included: preventing and controlling communicable and non-communicable diseases; promoting and supporting healthy lifestyles; planning, funding, managing and evaluating health gain; ensuring safe and healthy environments; and contributing to healthy growth and development through all life stages. Lower levels of coverage were found for: assessing health needs; developing healthy public policy and fiscal measures; strengthening communities; and improving health for Aboriginal people and other vulnerable groups. CONCLUSIONS: There are limitations in the capacity of the rural public health workforce in Western Australia to implement the core public health functions. While some areas were defined as being adequately addressed, gaps in implementation appeared across all nine functions. IMPLICATIONS: The Australian core functions can be utilised to broadly assess current public health practice, however further development of the functions and their measurement, plus methods to align accountability measures for current public health practice with the core functions, are required.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of the implementation of the folate-neural tube defect health claim and its impact on the availability of folate-fortified food in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of the folate-neural tube defect (NTD) health claim and its impact on the availability of folate-fortified food in Australia. METHODS: During late 2005, a survey was conducted in 16 supermarkets across all Australian capital cities to identify the use of the folate-NTD health claim on the labels of the 128 food products listed in food standard 1.1A.2: 'Transitional standard--Health claims' and the number of products fortified with folic acid. RESULTS: Seventy-nine per cent of existing listed food products were found and two of these were implementing the folate-NTD health claim. Forty-four per cent of these listed products, previously fortified with folic acid, were no longer fortified. One hundred and seventeen generally available food products were fortified with folic acid, predominantly breakfast cereals (73%). Twenty-seven per cent of these folate-fortified products were listed in the transitional standard. CONCLUSIONS: The health claim was not used widely to inform women of child-bearing age of the importance of periconceptional folate intake. The increased availability of folate-fortified products generally has occurred independently of the health claim. Deficiencies in the verification system of the tested regulatory framework are identified. The voluntary regulatory provisions for both folate fortification and the use of the health claim diminished the States' influence over their implementation of public health tools.

Australia↗

PubMed2004

A randomised controlled trial of a tailored multifaceted strategy to promote implementation of a clinical guideline on induced abortion care.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a tailored multifaceted strategy, delivered by a national clinical effectiveness programme, to implement a guideline on induced abortion. DESIGN: Cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All 26 hospital gynaecology units in Scotland providing induced abortion care. INTERVENTION: Following the identification of barriers to guideline implementation, intervention units received a package comprising audit and feedback, unit educational meetings, dissemination of structured case records and promotion of a patient information booklet. Control units received printed guideline summaries alone. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Compliance with five key guideline recommendations (primary outcomes) and compliance with other recommendations, patient satisfaction and costs of the implementation strategy (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: No effect was observed for any key recommendation: appointment with a gynaecologist within five days of referral (odds ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval 0.50 to 1.58); ascertainment of cervical cytology history (0.93; 0.36 to 2.40); antibiotic prophylaxis or screening for lower genital tract infection (1.70; 0.71 to 5.99); use of misoprostol as an alternative to gemeprost (1.00; 0.27 to 1.77); and offer of contraceptive supplies at discharge (1.11; 0.48 to 2.53). Median pre-intervention compliance was near optimal for antibiotic prophylaxis and misoprostol use. No intervention benefit was observed for any secondary outcome. The intervention costs an average of pound 2607 per gynaecology unit. CONCLUSIONS: The tailored multifaceted strategy was ineffective. This was possibly attributable to high pre-intervention compliance and the limited impact of the strategy on factors outside the perceived control of clinical staff.

Abortion, Induced↗

PubMed2005

Emergency obstetric care in developing countries: impact of guidelines implementation in a community hospital in Senegal.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, with volunteer professionals in a resource-poor setting, an approach of audit and feedback to promote local implementation of emergency obstetric guidelines. DESIGN: Triple cohort observational time series study. SETTING: A 46-bed obstetric unit in an academic-affiliated community hospital in Senegal. POPULATION: All pregnant women with haemorrhagic and hypertensive complications who were admitted to the maternity unit during the study periods. METHODS: To assess the benefits of guidelines implementation, maternal outcomes during the intervention period were compared with those occurring in two one-year periods when staff daily supervision was the main potentially effective action on clinical management. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The intervention strategy was criteria-based audits with regular feedback over a one-year period. The clinical focus was haemorrhage and hypertension the most frequent causes of maternal death in the study population. Hospital charts were audited by external reviewers. The primary outcome was the case fatality rate (CFR) among patients with haemorrhage and hypertension. RESULTS: There was an increase in morbidity diagnoses during the intervention period. In addition, there was a marked increase in obstetric interventions, especially for transfusions and caesarean deliveries. Patients characteristic-adjusted case fatality decreased by 53% between baselines I and II and during the intervention period by 33% and 24%, compared with baseline periods I and II, respectively. Outcome improvements were different for haemorrhage and hypertension. CONCLUSION: While staff daily supervision may have improved maternal outcome before the intervention period, audit and feedback produced marked effects on emergency obstetric care, specially for complications requiring highly trained management (e.g. pre-eclampsia). Audit and feedback are one of the potentially effective guidelines implementation strategies that should be considered for further studies in resource-poor health facilities.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Implementing coordination of care--task performance and problems encountered.

In recent years the effects of interventions in the field of coordination of care have been well reported. However, the implementation of coordination of care is hardly addressed. This article focuses on the implementation of coordination of care for the elderly in three community settings in The Netherlands. A group of 38 professional and non-professional care-givers functioned as coordinators during a period of one year. Open interviews with coordinators, minutes from group meetings and forms and logbooks were used as sources of data. Major problems during implementation involved conflicting roles, preserving the client's privacy, lack of recognition and the perception that coordination was not always necessary. Coordinators had no difficulty in making a care inventory and in organizing care. On the other hand, introducing oneself as a coordinator, and planning and evaluating are tasks that need more attention in future interventions.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

Looking inside the black box of comprehensive geriatric assessment: a classification system for problems, recommendations, and implementation strategies.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and test the inter-rater reliability of a coding system for geriatric problems identified through Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) of hospitalized older persons, recommendations generated by the assessment, and implementation strategies for these recommendations. DESIGN: Validation study. SETTING: A health maintenance organization and a geriatrics academic program. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 49 hospitalized older persons, who met at least 1 of 13 inclusionary "targeting" criteria, two geriatricians, and one social worker who coded forms. MEASUREMENTS: Standardized coding of CGA consultation sheets into (1) geriatric problems identified, (2) recommendations, and (3) implementation strategies; inter-rater reliability testing of coding system using two physicians and a social worker. RESULTS: On average, each assessed patient had 4.8 recommendations. The largest percentages of recommendations were for non-physician referrals (18.2%), advance directives (13.4%), medication adjustments (11.5%), diagnostic evaluation/monitoring (11.5%), and community services (10.9%). The proportions of agreement between raters in coding problems ranged from 0.77 to 0.90, in coding recommendations from 0.69 to 0.86, and in coding implementation strategies from 0.68 to 0.83. CONCLUSION: A classification system for measuring some components of the process of care of CGA has satisfactory inter-rater reliability, can be adapted for other settings, and may provide valuable insight into determining which components of CGA confer health benefits.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Implementation of the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) in nursing homes in New York City.

OBJECTIVE: To examine implementation of the Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA), verbal directives, procedures for determination of resident' decision-making capacity, and role of ethics committees in nursing homes in New York City. DESIGN: Telephone survey. PARTICIPANTS: Social workers in 109 (69%) nursing homes in New York City. MEASUREMENT: An 80-item instrument addressing: (1) social worker knowledge of the PSDA; (2) informing residents about advance directives (living wills and durable power of attorney for health care [health care proxies]); (3) determination of decision-making capacity to be informed about advance directives; (4) estimates of advance directives executed; (5) perceptions of PSDA effect; (6) ethics committees; (7) follow-up and documentation; and (8) staff and community education. MAIN RESULTS: Virtually all social workers in nursing homes stated that they made what they perceived to be a "serious effort" to inform residents about advance directives and to have residents execute directives (preferentially a health care proxy). More residents were thought to have executed a directive pursuant to the PSDA law than before the Act went into effect. Social workers in most homes informed residents about directives through face-to-face discussions. Most homes, however, did not inform residents who were thought to lack decision-making capacity about their right to execute a directive. Only 37% of homes had written procedures to determine a resident's decision-making capacity to be informed about directives; most homes relied on physician and social work assessments. Voluntary homes differed significantly from proprietary homes in that they were larger, more likely to have an ethics committee, and more aggressive in their implementation of the PSDA. Forty-five percent of homes with an ethics committee had written procedures for determination of resident decision-making capacity compared with 26% of homes without a committee. Overall, 24% of residents were thought to have executed an advance directive. The number of directives per bed did not vary significantly by facility size, ownership, religious affiliation, or whether they did or did not have an ethics committee. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that social workers in nursing homes speak with most residents about advance directives has the potential to improve resident understanding around end of life decisions. The practice of not informing residents about advance directives when they are perceived to lack decision-making capacity is problematic given that most homes have no clear procedures for determining residents' cognitive capacity to execute a directive. There is a need to replicate the benefits achieved by homes with ethics committees in implementing the PSDA in other homes.

Advance Directives↗

PubMed2005

Decreased sepsis related to indwelling venous access devices coincident with implementation of universal leukoreduction of blood transfusions.

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials and animal models demonstrate that leukoreduction of transfusions can reduce the risk of post-operative infections. We performed a retrospective study of sepsis related to indwelling venous access devices (line related infections) before and after the July 2000 implementation of universal leukoreduction. METHODS: Line related infection data were collected from hospital infection control records for an 18-month period before and after July 2000. Transfusion histories were obtained from transfusion service records. RESULTS: Line related infections decreased in number from 150 to 98 (-35%) in transfused patients after implementation of universal leukoreduction, whereas line related infections increased from 41 to 45 (+10%) in nontransfused patients (p = 0.04). This corresponded to a decrease from 5.3 to 3.3 infections/10,000 patient days in transfused patients (p = 0.002). The infection rate remained stable in nontransfused patients at 1.5 infections/10,000 patient days both pre- and postimplementation of universal leukoreduction. Quantitatively similar decreases (33-45%) were seen in transfused surgical, medical and pediatric patients. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial and statistically significant decrease in line related infections occurred coincident with implementation of universal leukoreduction. These improved outcomes were observed in transfused but not nontransfused patients, across all clinical services, suggesting a causal relationship with universal leukoreduction.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Implementation of MADIT and MUSTT in clinical practice: results of an international survey.

BACKGROUND: The long-awaited dramatically positive outcome of the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT II), just published by Moss et al.,(14) has generated cardiologists' interest on the implementation into clinical practice of that trial. Important lessons may be learned by examining the clinical implementation of two preceding randomized, prospective, prophylactic ICD trials: the original MADIT trial, published late 1996, and the Multicenter Unsustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT), published late 1999. Both demonstrated that implantable cardioverter defibrillators reduce all-cause mortality by over 50% in high risk patients without previous sustained arrhythmias. METHODS: In early 2000, we surveyed 133 active electrophysiology centers (47 American, 81 European, 5 Canadian) to determine the extent to which these practices have been implemented in clinical practice during 1999, and the responses were compared to a similar survey for the year 1998. RESULTS: ICDs implanted for MADIT or MUSTT criteria accounted for 18% of new ICD implants in 1999, 65% greater than in 1998, increasing from 6% to 11% in Europe, and from 15% to 24% in America. During 1999, 53% of patients receiving ICDs for these indications were inpatients identified during hospitalization, 27% were outpatients referred specifically for MADIT/MUSTT indications, and 20% were identified by routine screening. Per the survey, in 1999 68% of responders were "somewhat (10-20%)" and 14% were "considerably (>20%)" more likely to implant ICDs for all indications. CONCLUSIONS: Extrapolating the results of this survey to all initial ICD implants for 1999, we estimate that 8500 implants for MADIT/MUSTT criteria took place in 1999, with the overall number of such implants substantially increased over the previous year, irrespective of geographic location, and influenced significantly by the publication of MUSTT. However, screening and implant practices between centers continue to vary over a broad spectrum. It will be interesting to observe whether similar patterns will follow with MADIT II.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Implementing a perinatal clinical information system: a work in progress.

Implementation of a clinical information system is a work in progress. There are many factors to consider, including (a) clearly defining the scope of the project and associated goals, (b) identifying background, skills, and beliefs of the key players, (c) assessing the unit's strengths and weaknesses, (d) assessing the current documentation's strengths and weaknesses, (e) assessing the clinical information system's strengths and weaknesses, (f) determining the project's constraints, and (g) discussing different implementation strategies. This article describes how these factors were considered during implementation of a clinical information system in a labor and delivery unit.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2005

An implementation strategy for introducing an OSCE into a dental school.

INTRODUCTION: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) uses a series of test-stations to test clinical competencies. The introduction of an OSCE in a dental school is always a new experience for both staff and students and may result in a change in assessment methods. As resistance could develop when changes are introduced into an organisation, the use of a strategy for the implementation of such change will help to diminish opposition and may therefore result in the co-operation of staff and their departments. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an implementation strategy by measuring attitudes of both staff and students towards the OSCE as a new form of clinical assessment in a dental school (ACTA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 'Stepwise' behaviour change (with information, participation and commitment as tools) was used as a strategy to minimise protective behaviour to the introduction of an OSCE. After lectures on assessment, 59 staff members participated in a mini-OSCE with eight test-stations, playing both the role of a student and observer. A questionnaire, designed to test attitudes and commitment towards the new OSCE was completed after the examination. Six months later, 22 staff of all departments had developed and run a pilot OSCE for 44 students. A similar questionnaire was answered by staff and students. A year later, another OSCE for all 103 third year students was designed, organised and evaluated with full co-operation of the clinical teaching staff. RESULTS: Staff total attitude grew positively (P = 0.001). Student's total attitude was lower than staff (P < 0.001) The results of the survey after the mini-staff-OSCE and pilot and final OSCE were favourable in terms of the acceptance of use of an OSCE for the assessment of clinical competences. CONCLUSION: The implementation strategy appears to have been successful. The objective of gaining the co-operation of staff and departments and avoiding resistance to change was achieved.

Attitude↗

PubMed2006

Implementing an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in dental education: effects on students' learning strategies.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) on dental students' learning strategies and competence to manage periodontal diseases in patients. The implemented OSCE was expected to be superior to the existing Written Exam in fostering the acquisition of clinical competencies in terms of study strategies that are more oriented towards clinical practice, longer study time, greater clinical proficiency, and more realistic self-assessment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: After a clinical course in periodontology, 72 third year dental students were assessed summatively, either using a Written Exam or an OSCE (P-OSCE). The students were informed beforehand about the assessment formats. The self-assessed clinical competence, study time and strategies (i.e. practice with a manikin, peers and patient case) were evaluated by means of a questionnaire. After a comprehensive dental care course, all 72 students were assessed by an overall end-of-year OSCE, in which three periodontal stations were included 'measuring pockets', 'educating patients' and 'tracing an X-ray with bone-loss'. The competence of the previous Written Exam group and the P-OSCE group was investigated by determining the mean scores and pass-fail scores of three periodontal test-stations as well as the total score of the end-of-year OSCE. The degree of realistic self-assessment was studied by correlating the self-assessed competencies as evaluated by means of the questionnaire with the total score of the end-of-year OSCE. RESULTS: Self-assessed clinical competence, study time and study strategies showed no differences between the P-OSCE and the Written Exam-group. The clinical competence determined in the test-station 'measuring pockets' in the end of year overall OSCE was higher for the P-OSCE group (P = 0.05) when compared with the Written Exam group; the two groups performed equally well in the test station 'educating patients', whereas the performance in 'tracing an X-ray with bone-loss' was better in the Written Exam group. This group also had a higher total score in the end-of-year OSCE (P = 0.05). The degree of realistic self-assessment was higher in the P-OSCE group than in the Written Exam group: in the P-OSCE group the self-assessed clinical competencies correlated significantly with the total score of the overall end-of-year OSCE (P < or = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: No effects of the implementation of an OSCE in undergraduate periodontal education were observed in study strategies, but the implementation of an OSCE in undergraduate periodontal education appears to stimulate learning, resulting in greater achievement of specific clinical competence and a greater level of realistic self-assessment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development and implementation of an education and credentialing programme to provide safe paediatric procedural sedation in emergency departments.

OBJECTIVE: In the conduct of paediatric procedural sedation (PPS) within the ED the combination of powerful drugs, variable competency levels and high staff turnover carry the potential for sedation-associated adverse events. Yet, currently, there is no set programme for education and accreditation of ED staff in PPS. We set out to develop such a programme. METHODS: We outline the development process of a comprehensive multidisciplinary PPS programme and present its key educational elements (sedation manual, lecture, treatment order form and checklist, parent information handout) and credentialing through multiple-choice questions and competency assessments. We describe issues associated with the implementation of the programme at a metropolitan mixed ED and the ED of a major tertiary paediatric centre. RESULTS: Since its inception a total of 294 emergency staff have either completed or have partially completed the programme. Staff feedback showed that the majority of staff scored the elements of the programme as very good to excellent, and felt that their sedation skills had improved and their practice was safer. The development and implementation of the PPS programme raised many issues and posed a number of challenges. We describe the strategies we used to overcome such challenges and barriers. CONCLUSION: We present the development and implementation of a comprehensive PPS programme for emergency staff. As a result of the multicentre development process involving a community and a tertiary paediatric ED the programme will likely have broad applicability in different types of ED caring for children.

Anesthesiology↗

PubMed1991

Effect of inservice training on implementation of a health curriculum in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The effect of different types of inservice training on the degree of implementation of a fourth grade health curriculum in Nova Scotia, Canada, was investigated. Using a quasiexperimental, nonequivalent control group design with posttest only, teachers (N = 41) were assigned to one trial group and two comparison groups. The distal comparison group received no inservice training, the local comparison group received a single session, and the trial group received ongoing, inservice training. The Health Program Component Checklist developed for this study was used to measure implementation. Data were collected by personal interview. Based on the Mann-Whitney U test, a significantly greater degree of implementation occurred in the trial group than in the proximal comparison group, but not the distal comparison group.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2003

The principles of effectiveness: early awareness and plans for implementation in a national sample of public schools and their districts.

The US Department of Education's Principles of Effectiveness require recipients of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community Act funds to: a) base drug and violence prevention programs on needs assessment data, b) develop measurable program goals and objectives, c) implement programs with research evidence of effectiveness, and d) periodically evaluate programs relative to their goals and objectives. This paper reports the extent of awareness of the Principles of Effectiveness and plans for their implementation among public school districts and schools in the United States in the year following their announcement. Results showed a greater percentage of public school districts than individual schools knew about the principles and planned for implementation, but baseline levels of awareness for both districts and schools were relatively low. Schools were more likely to know about the principles when their associated school district also knew. Results suggest a need for greater communication about the principles to school districts, and in turn, a need for greater communication between district and school-level substance use prevention staff.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Developing, implementing, and evaluating a treatment protocol for rural substance abusers.

Substance abuse is a significant social and public health problem facing rural Americans. However, most treatment protocols have been developed in urban areas. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative substance abuse treatment designed with the collaboration of rural professionals and consumers specifically for rural clients and delivered by rural clinicians. Results of the process evaluation of Structured Behavioral Outpatient Rural Therapy (SBORT) produced findings about the experiences of participating clients, clinicians, and program directors. Most clients perceived SBORT as a helpful learning process that used multiple treatment strategies and presented an alternative to 12-step programs. Clients also reported that treatment was stressful even when beneficial, and that clinician support was critical for remaining in treatment. Most clinicians found that SBORT challenged their "old" treatment frameworks, was demanding to learn and adopt, and that the training and supervision involved in the project implementation helped remedy rural isolation from the treatment community. Interestingly, agency approach to program implementation strongly influenced clinician responses to the innovation. Agency program directors' appraisals of SBORT included observations that the therapy was viable because of its rural-specific design and that most staff were able to adapt to the changes demanded by the manualized protocol. All three groups reported that they saw the emphasis and acceptance of motivation as an emergent process as important to the treatment. This project highlighted the challenge and importance of testing rural substance abuse treatment protocols in naturalistic settings.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed1993

Diffusion, dissemination, and implementation: who should do what?

The concepts of diffusion, dissemination, and implementation are distinguished as progressively more active steps in the process of flowing valid and reliable research information into clinical practice. Using a staged model of behavior change, diffusion is seen as a precursor for dissemination activities, which in turn "predispose" physicians to consider change in their practices. Local implementation activities capitalize on this by "enabling" and subsequently "reinforcing" the desired behavior change. Different skills are needed for each activity. Biomedical journals, with some improvements, are identified as diffusion agents. Collaboration between academics and medical organizations is best suited to the dissemination stage. Local agents, empowered by resources, are best equipped for implementation activities.

Communication Barriers↗