ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the adoption of the national Hypertension Guideline in primary care and to evaluate the consistency of the views of the health centre senior executives on the guideline's impact on clinical practices in the treatment of hypertension in their health centres. DESIGN: A cross-sectional telephone survey. SETTING: All municipal health centres in Finland. SUBJECTS: Health centres where both the head physician and the senior nursing officer responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Agreement in views of the senior executives on the adoption of clinical practices as recommended in the Hypertension Guideline. RESULTS: Data were available from 143 health centres in Finland (49%). The views of head physicians and senior nursing officers on the adoption of the Hypertension Guideline were not consistent. Head physicians more often than senior nursing officers (44% vs. 29%, p < 0.001) reported that no agreements on recording target blood pressure in patient records existed. A similar discrepancy was seen in recording cardiovascular risk (64% vs. 44%, p < 0.001). Senior executives agreed best on the calibration of sphygmomanometers and the provision of weight-control group counselling. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension Guideline recommendations that require joint agreements between professionals are less often adopted than simple, precise recommendations. More emphasis on effective multidisciplinary collaboration is needed.
Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use , Community Health Centers , Guideline Adherence , Hypertension/drug therapy , Adult , Attitude of Health Personnel , Family Practice , Finland , Humans , Hypertension/diagnosis , Middle Aged , Nursing, Supervisory , Physician Executives , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Evidence-based guidelines on hypertension have been developed in many western countries. Yet, there is little evidence of their impact on the clinical practices of primary care nurses. METHOD: We assessed the style of implementation and adoption of the national Hypertension Guideline (HT Guideline) in 32 Finnish health centres classified in a previous study as 'disseminators' (n = 13) or 'implementers' (n = 19). A postal questionnaire was sent to all nurses (n = 409) working in the outpatient services in these health centres. Additionally, senior nursing officers were telephoned to enquire if the implementation of the HT Guideline had led to a new division of labour between nurses and doctors. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned from 327 nurses (80.0%), while all senior nursing officers (n = 32) were contacted. The majority of nurses were of the opinion that the HT Guideline has been adopted into clinical practice. The recommendations in the HT Guideline were adopted in clinical practice with varying success, and slightly more often in implementer health centres than in disseminator health centres. Nurses in implementer health centres more often agreed that multiple channels had been used in the implementation (P < 0.001). According to senior nursing officers the implementation of the HT Guideline had led to a new division of labour between nurses and doctors in about a half of the health centres, clearly more often in implementer health centres (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The HT Guideline was well adopted into clinical practice in Finland. The implementation of the HT Guideline had an impact on clinical practices, and on creating a new division of labour between nurses and doctors.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Hypertension/prevention & control , Nursing Staff/psychology , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Ambulatory Care/organization & administration , Chi-Square Distribution , Diffusion of Innovation , Evidence-Based Practice/education , Evidence-Based Practice/organization & administration , Female , Finland , Humans , Information Dissemination , Male , Middle Aged , Nurse's Role/psychology , Nursing Methodology Research , Nursing Staff/education , Nursing Staff/organization & administration , Organizational Innovation , Patient Education as Topic , Surveys and Questionnaires , Workload/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the extent and style of implementation of the Hypertension Guideline (HT Guideline) in Finnish primary health centres, and to identify a scale of contrasting implementation styles in the health centres (with the two ends of the scale being referred to as information implementers or disseminators respectively). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. Development of a questionnaire and criteria for assessing the extent and style of implementation of the HT Guideline. SETTING: Primary healthcare. SUBJECTS: All head physicians and senior nursing officers in Finnish health centres (n =290). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The extent of adoption of the HT Guideline in health centres and the characteristics associated with the implementation style. RESULTS: Responses were received from 410 senior medical staff (246 senior nursing officers and 164 head physicians) representing altogether 264 health centres (91%) in Finland. The HT Guideline had been introduced into clinical practice in most health centres (89%). The style of implementation varied widely between health centres: at opposite ends of the implementation scale were 21 implementer health centres, which used multiple implementation channels, and 23 disseminator health centres, which used few or no implementation channels. The implementers had typically larger population bases and had organized services around the family doctor system, while the disseminators were smaller and had organized services according to a traditional model (appointments could be with any doctor in the surgery). CONCLUSION: The Finnish HT Guideline has become well known in most health centres since being introduced into clinical practice. However, the style of implementation varies markedly between health centres.
