Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect: A Qualitative Study Explaining Why a Trial of an Educational Toolkit Did Not Improve Quality of Care.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a chronic disease commonly managed by family physicians, with the most prevalent complication being cardiovascular disease (CVD). Clinical practice guidelines have been developed to support clinicians in the care of diabetic patients. We conducted a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a printed educational toolkit aimed at improving CVD management in diabetes in primary care, and found no effect, and indeed, the possibility of some harm. We conducted a qualitative evaluation to study the strategy for guideline implementation employed in this trial, and to understand its effects. This paper focuses solely on the qualitative findings, as the RCT's quantitative results have already been reported elsewhere. METHODS AND FINDINGS: All family practices in the province of Ontario had been randomized to receive the educational toolkit by mail, in either the summer of 2009 (intervention arm) or the spring of 2010 (control arm).A subset of 80 family physicians (representing approximately 10% of the practices randomized and approached, with records on 1,592 randomly selected patients with diabetes at high risk for CVD) then took part in a chart audit and reflective feedback exercise related to their own practice in comparison to the guideline recommendations. They were asked to complete two forms (one pre- and one post-audit) in order to understand their awareness of the guidelines pre-trial, their expectations regarding their individual performance pre-audit, and their reflections on their audit results. In addition, individual interviews with thirteen other family physicians were conducted. Textual data from interview transcripts and written commentary from the pre- and post-audit forms underwent qualitative descriptive analysis to identify common themes and patterns. Analysis revealed four main themes: impressions of the toolkit, awareness was not the issue, 'it's not me it's my patients', and chart audit as a more effective intervention than the toolkit. Participants saw neither the toolkit content nor its dissemination strategy to be effective, indicating they perceived themselves to be aware of the guidelines pre-trial. However, their accounts also indicated that they may be struggling to prioritize CVD management in the midst of competing demands for their attention. Upon receiving their chart audit results, many participants expressed surprise that they had not performed better. They reported that the audit results would be an important motivator for behaviour change. CONCLUSIONS: The qualitative findings outlined in this paper offer important insights into why the intervention was not effective. They also demonstrate that physicians have unperceived needs relative to CVD management and that the chart audit served to identify shortcomings in their practice of which they had been hitherto unaware. The findings also indicate that new methods of intervention development and implementation should be explored. This is important given the high prevalence of diabetes worldwide; appropriate CVD management is critical to addressing the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease.

Effects of a Longitudinal Interprofessional Educational Outreach Program on Collaboration.

INTRODUCTION: Interprofessional education (IPE) interventions lack clarity regarding development and implementation, impeding a clear understanding of their role and effectiveness. The aim of this study was to identify whether and how an outreach program targeting interprofessional health care teams can improve self-efficacy and interprofessional collaboration (IPC). METHODS: A cohort study was conducted to explore the effect of the program on individual self-efficacy and perceived IPC and investigate factors affecting interprofessional learning and collaboration. The program was a two-year IPE program consisting of workshops, educational materials, and interworkshop support. Participants were physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and social workers at two primary care teams in Toronto. Self-efficacy and team function were measured five times throughout the program. We used analysis of variance and t-tests to compare between teams and used Pearson correlations to estimate the relationship between self-efficacy and team function. One-on-one interviews investigated factors affecting IPC and the program's effect on IPC. RESULTS: Team function improved as the program progressed (P = .02); although it did not affect self-efficacy, there was an increasing correlation between self-efficacy and team function as the program progressed (P < .01 for workshop 5). Interviews revealed that trust, liability concerns, and geographic proximity were mediators of IPC. The workshops were perceived to enable trust building by increasing knowledge and allowing nonphysician team members to showcase their expertise. DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate that an IPE workshop, through role clarification, cultivation of trust, and a community of practice, can promote these elements. Trust in team members and geographic proximity are potential facilitators to IPC developed during an interprofessional program.

The ABCs of DKA: Development and Validation of a Computer-Based Simulator and Scoring System.

BACKGROUND: Clinical management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) continues to be suboptimal; simulation-based training may bridge this gap and is particularly applicable to teaching DKA management skills given it enables learning of basic knowledge, as well as clinical reasoning and patient management skills. OBJECTIVES: 1) To develop, test, and refine a computer-based simulator of DKA management; 2) to collect validity evidence, according to National Standard's validity framework; and 3) to judge whether the simulator scoring system is an appropriate measure of DKA management skills of undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees. DESIGN: After developing the DKA simulator, we completed usability testing to optimize its functionality. We then conducted a preliminary validation of the scoring system for measuring trainees' DKA management skills. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited year 1 and year 3 medical students, year 2 postgraduate trainees, and endocrinologists (n = 75); each completed a simulator run, and we collected their simulator-computed scores. MAIN MEASURES: We collected validity evidence related to content, internal structure, relations with other variables, and consequences. KEY RESULTS: Our simulator consists of six cases highlighting DKA management priorities. Real-time progression of each case includes interactive order entry, laboratory and clinical data, and individualised feedback. Usability assessment identified issues with clarity of system status, user control, efficiency of use, and error prevention. Regarding validity evidence, Cronbach's α was 0.795 for the seven subscales indicating favorable internal structure evidence. Participants' scores showed a significant effect of training level (p < 0.001). Scores also correlated with the number of DKA patients they reported treating, weeks on Medicine rotation, and comfort with managing DKA. A score on the simulation exercise of 75 % had a sensitivity and specificity of 94.7 % and 51.8%, respectively, for delineating between expert staff physicians and trainees. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate how a simulator and scoring system can be developed, tested, and refined to determine its quality for use as an assessment modality. Our evidence suggests that it can be used for formative assessment of trainees' DKA management skills.

Effect of an educational toolkit on quality of care: a pragmatic cluster randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Printed educational materials for clinician education are one of the most commonly used approaches for quality improvement. The objective of this pragmatic cluster randomized trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational toolkit focusing on cardiovascular disease screening and risk reduction in people with diabetes. METHODS AND FINDINGS: All 933,789 people aged ≥40 years with diagnosed diabetes in Ontario, Canada were studied using population-level administrative databases, with additional clinical outcome data collected from a random sample of 1,592 high risk patients. Family practices were randomly assigned to receive the educational toolkit in June 2009 (intervention group) or May 2010 (control group). The primary outcome in the administrative data study, death or non-fatal myocardial infarction, occurred in 11,736 (2.5%) patients in the intervention group and 11,536 (2.5%) in the control group (p = 0.77). The primary outcome in the clinical data study, use of a statin, occurred in 700 (88.1%) patients in the intervention group and 725 (90.1%) in the control group (p = 0.26). Pre-specified secondary outcomes, including other clinical events, processes of care, and measures of risk factor control, were also not improved by the intervention. A limitation is the high baseline rate of statin prescribing in this population. CONCLUSIONS: The educational toolkit did not improve quality of care or cardiovascular outcomes in a population with diabetes. Despite being relatively easy and inexpensive to implement, printed educational materials were not effective. The study highlights the need for a rigorous and scientifically based approach to the development, dissemination, and evaluation of quality improvement interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01411865 and NCT01026688.

Insulin order sets improve glycemic control and processes of care.

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to evaluate the impact of a standardized preprinted subcutaneous correctional insulin order set on glycemic control, processes of care, and nursing satisfaction. METHODS: This was a controlled before/after, qualitative study using focus group interviews. The intervention group consisted of patients with diabetes who were admitted to the cardiovascular surgery ward. The control group consisted of patients with diabetes who were admitted to the vascular surgery ward. Registered nurses on the cardiovascular surgery floor participated in focus groups and completed surveys. We used a multifaceted intervention including standardized insulin order sheet, educational workshops, verbal and printed reminders, printed enabler, reference sheet, and overnight helpline. Glycemic control and hypoglycemia were assessed through chart review, and nursing satisfaction with the insulin order sets was assessed through surveys and nursing focus groups, performed before and 6 months after implementation of the insulin order set. RESULTS: There was a 39% reduction in proportion of blood glucose>11.0 mmol/L (198 mg/dL) in the intervention group compared with the control group (0.17 vs 0.28, P=.03). The proportion of hypoglycemia (blood glucose<4.0 mmol/L [72 mg/dL]) was no different between the 2 groups. Nurse satisfaction increased significantly (P<.02); order sets were easy to use and improved glycemic control, processes, and efficiency of care, and reduced the number of pages between nursing and medical staff. CONCLUSIONS: Standardized insulin order sets reduced hyperglycemia and improved nursing satisfaction and processes of care. Successful implementation required stakeholder engagement, identification of barriers and facilitators in local practice, and tailoring the intervention to target these factors.

Chorea--an unusual manifestation in a woman recovering from myxedema coma.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of reversible chorea in a woman with myxedema coma. METHODS: We describe the clinical course, imaging findings, and laboratory test results of a patient who initially presented with myxedema coma and then developed reversible chorea upon treatment. RESULTS: A 33-year-old woman with a known history of primary hypothyroidism presented with a 3-week history of lethargy, progressing to a precipitous decline in consciousness that required intubation. Physical examination revealed concurrent hypothermia and bradycardia. Laboratory investigations demonstrated a thyrotropin concentration greater than 100 mIU/L, a free triiodothyronine concentration of 1.9 pg/mL, and a free thyroxine concentration of 0.24 ng/dL, but no other metabolic abnormalities. She was treated with intravenous levothyroxine therapy on the first 2 days of hospital admission (200 mcg and 250 mcg, respectively). On day 2, she was obeying commands and she was extubated. She began exhibiting choreiform movements. Thyroid function test results revealed a normal free thyroxine concentration (1.10 ng/dL), but an elevated thyrotropin concentration (40.98 mIU/L) and a low free triiodothyronine concentration (1.9 pg/mL). Findings from computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of her brain and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid were normal. Her regimen was transitioned to oral levothyroxine, 88 mcg daily, and by day 4, her choreiform movements ceased. CONCLUSIONS: Neurologic manifestations of hypothyroidism include psychomotor slowing, memory deficits, and dementia, with myxedema coma at the extreme of this spectrum. Although chorea is a rare manifestation of hyperthyroidism, this is the first report of a patient with acquired, reversible choreiform movement disorder while still being severely hypothyroid and treated with levothyroxine.

Targeting educational interventions to clinician's stage of change.

This before-after mixed-method study assessed the effect of a diabetes education and self-efficacy training workshop on clinician knowledge, intention and self-efficacy. This workshop demonstrated and narrowed a knowledge gap but did not change intention or self-efficacy. Neither the intervention nor the measured outcomes were targeted to clinicians' stage of change.

Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in aboriginal populations: a global perspective.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in aboriginal populations worldwide. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A Medline search from 1966 to 2005 was conducted. Studies were selected if they utilized accepted diagnostic criteria for type 2 diabetes. Year of study, sample size, response rate, age range, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes and IGT were documented. RESULTS: Forty-two studies were selected, comprising 59 populations. Although the majority demonstrated a several-fold elevation of type 2 diabetes prevalence as compared to non-aboriginal populations, this was not a universal finding; a small number of populations studied actually had a low prevalence of type 2 diabetes and IGT. Lower prevalences were found in rural compared with urban populations. Interestingly, we were also able to document an inverse relationship between the ratio of IGT/type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes prevalence. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that those populations with the very highest rates of type 2 diabetes appear to have progressed past the prediabetes stages in the natural history of this metabolic disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Type 2 diabetes and IGT prevalence rates vary widely amongst the world's aboriginal populations. Despite very different histories and cultures, the consequences of rapid changes in nutrition and exercise appear to have very similar metabolic consequences on aboriginal populations, the magnitude of which may be determined by the strength of the genetic susceptibility.