Two organizations with distinct but complementary mandates have partnered to do just that.
One is a pan-Canadian organization that works with governments, health organizations, leaders, health-care providers, patients and families, to inspire extraordinary improvement in patient safety and quality. They have extensive interprofessional networks across all health-care sectors and have expertise in applying evidence-based approaches to foster improvements in teamwork, communication, and patient safety culture.
The other organization is a voluntary professional association in Ontario which develops robust evidence-based best practice guidelines and actively supports implementation, evaluation, and sustained use of guidelines at individual, organizational, and system levels. Their Best Practice Spotlight Organization program applies implementation science methodology, and social movement thinking to create evidence-based cultures in academic and service organizations across Ontario and around the world (Grinspun & Bajnok, 2018).
The two organizations (hereafter referred to as “the Partnership”) have a decade-long history of collaborating for successful outcomes. Starting in 2008, they applied evidence-based practices and systematic approaches to support health-care teams across Canada to reduce falls and fall injury (Grinspun & Bajnok, 2018). As organizational mandates evolved, the partners decided to collaborate on a new project. The goal of the project was to promote health-care excellence and evidence-based practice across Canada and around the world. The catalyst to achieve this was an evidence-based toolkit. The objective of the toolkit was to provide interprofessional health-care teams from all health sectors with a repertoire of evidence-based tools and resources to make sustainable practice changes.
Below is a description of the approach used by the Partnership to accomplish their goals and objectives. This includes: a) establishing a foundation for a strong partnership; b) applying rigorous methodology to develop an evidence-based toolkit; c) actively engaging end-users to develop the toolkit; and d) mobilizing their networks to use the toolkit to adopt, sustain and spread best practices.
Establishing a strong partnership
Collaborative, interorganizational partnerships involve working together towards a common goal and achieving more together than they could on their own (Corbin, Jones, & Barry, 2016; Seaton et al., 2018). Several elements contribute to effective collaborations, including, but not limited to: creating a shared vision, committing human and financial resources, establishing and maintaining trusting relationships and clear communication, articulating roles, and engaging end-users (Corbin, Jones, & Barry, 2016; Seaton et al., 2018).
Together the Partnership established a strong foundation for successful collaboration. After receiving formal and informal feedback from the health-care field, the organizations aligned their mutual goals based on a common purpose; signed a memorandum of understanding that outlined project deliverables and financial commitments; used project management tools to clarify roles, responsibilities, and timelines; and met on a regular basis to communicate about plans, address challenges, and collaborate on decisions.
Applying rigorous methodology to develop the toolkit
The Partnership decided to focus the toolkit on knowledge translation and implementation science. Knowledge translation (KT) and implementation science (IS) are two complementary concepts that support the sustained application of evidence in health-care settings. Knowledge translation can be defined as “ensuring that stakeholders are aware of and use research evidence to inform their health and healthcare decision-making” (Grimshaw, Eccles, Lavis, Hill & Squires, 2012, p. 2). Implementation Science may be defined as “the scientific study of methods to promote the uptake of research findings into routine healthcare in clinical, organisational, or policy contexts” (Wensing, 2015, p. 98). While research shows that it can take 17 years for uptake of 14 per cent of innovations (Balas & Boren, 2000), using KT can both decrease the time required to adopt such innovations and improve implementation fidelity (Fixsen, Blase, Timbers & Wolf, 2001).
Barac, Stein, Bruce, & Barwick (2014) state that health-care providers value and use toolkits; however, they found that many toolkits lack scientific rigor. The Partnership’s toolkit methodology balances rigor with practicality. It is based on a systematic review of recent literature, a structured internet search of clinically relevant tools and resources, and engagement of experts and end-users from start to finish.
Engaging end-users
Each organization within the Partnership have extensive networks within academic and health organizations throughout Ontario, across Canada, and around the world. Nichols & Gaetz (2014) state that networks built on strong relationships and reciprocity enable shared learning and the creation of useable content. The Partnership is dedicated to ensuring the toolkit is practical and meets the needs of end-users. To that end, their networks and stakeholders were engaged in topic selection, and during the planning, development, and evaluation phases.
During the planning phase, individuals from the Partnership’s networks were engaged to inform the development of the toolkit through focus groups, key informant interviews, or online surveys. Other individuals were recruited to be part of an expert panel to actively participate in development of the toolkit. This expert panel included: interprofessional health-care providers across the spectrum of care, patients, experts in knowledge translation and implementation science, and experts in social movement thinking.
During the Toolkit development process, the Partnership established various touch points for consulting their networks and other stakeholders on draft content to ensure that it is relevant and useful for day-to-day practice.
Mobilizing their networks
The Partnership actively engages individuals and organizations in their networks to effectively use tools and resources to plan and implement evidence-based practices. The toolkit is being integrated into Safety Improvement Projects, to build curriculum for training Best Practice Champions, and to structure the systematic implementation of best practice guidelines in the Best Practice Spotlight Organization program. The Partnership will monitor and evaluate the program-level changes to determine the effectiveness of the toolkit.
Summary
This abstract discussed a synergistic partnership approach to making sustainable improvements in quality and safety throughout health sectors around the globe. A knowledge translation and implementation science toolkit is a catalyst for making this happen but it is the power of the Partnership’s networks and the collective action of interprofessional teams, across sectors and geographical boundaries, which advance cultures of excellence.
Presenters will share their expertise and lessons learned on how to establish an effective partnership, how to create an evidence-based resource together with end-users, and strategies for mobilizing change. Participants will learn about ways they can participate in ongoing work by the Partnership and will be encouraged to consider their own next steps.