Planning an implementation science training program for advanced practice registered nurses.

BACKGROUND: A gap exists between scientific discovery and implementation and adoption of research findings in healthcare and public health practice. This gap is due to the fact that research on treatment efficacy and safety in clinical trials ends prematurely with the publication of results, leaving a lack of knowledge of treatment effectiveness in real-world clinical and community settings. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) can facilitate the translation of research findings, reducing the gap between discovery and adoption into practice. Getting CER findings to patients and healthcare providers requires efforts to disseminate and train providers to successfully implement and sustain change in the healthcare setting. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are instrumental in the implementation of evidence-based research in primary care settings and an important group to target for the dissemination of research findings. There are numerous implementation training programs, but none focus specifically on APRNs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to describe the infrastructure established to develop a 3-day implementation training program for APRNs and an implementation support system. METHOD: A description of the processes and strategies is provided, including stakeholder engagement through focus groups and the formation of a multistakeholder program planning advisory team, which includes APRNs, organization leaders, and patients. The program also includes curriculum development and program planning as well as the development of an implementation toolkit. RESULTS: Stakeholders were instrumental in shaping the implementation training program, including the content of the curriculum and the program agenda. In addition, the unique perspective of each stakeholder group contributed to the selection of the CER findings disseminated through the intensive training program. CONCLUSION: It is important that strategies to address the lack of implementation training opportunities for APRNs be discussed and disseminated within the healthcare community. This article discusses the plan to address implementation training for APRNs through the development of an implementation curriculum and toolkit for APRNs.

Telemedicine-guided education on secondary stroke and fall prevention following inpatient rehabilitation for Texas patients with stroke and their caregivers: a feasibility pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: The aftermath of stroke leaves many consequences including cognitive deficits and falls due to imbalance. Stroke survivors and families struggle to navigate the complex healthcare system with little assistance posthospital discharge, often leading to early hospital readmission and worse stroke outcomes. Telemedicine Guided Education on Secondary Stroke and Fall Prevention Following Inpatient Rehabilitation feasibility study examines whether stroke survivors and their caregivers find value in telerehabilitation (TR) home visits that provide individualised care and education by a multidisciplinary team after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A prospective, single arm, pilot study is designed to evaluate the feasibility of weekly TR home visits initiated postdischarge from inpatient rehabilitation. Newly diagnosed patients with stroke are recruited from a Houston-based comprehensive stroke centre inpatient rehabilitation unit, loaned an iPad with data plan and trained to use information technology security-approved videoconferencing application. After hospital discharge, six weekly TR home visits are led by rotating specialists (pharmacist, physical/occupational therapist, speech therapist, rehabilitation physician, social worker, geriatrician specialised in fracture prevention) followed by satisfaction survey on week 7. Specialists visually assess patients in real time, educate them on secondary stroke and fall prevention and suggest ways to improve function including direct medical interventions when indicated. Primary outcomes are proportion of eligible patients consenting to the study, participation rate in all six TR home visits and satisfaction score. The study started 31 December 2015 with plan to enrol up to 50 patients over 24 months. Feasibility study results will inform us as to whether a randomised controlled trial is warranted to determine efficacy of TR home visit intervention in improving stroke outcomes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval obtained by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects, IRB number: HSC-MS-14-0994. Study results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Impact of smoking exposure change on infant birth weight among a cohort of women in a prenatal smoking cessation study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the known harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy, the highly addicted find it difficult to quit. Decreased smoking may be regarded as a means of harm reduction. There is limited information on the benefits of smoking reduction short of quitting. This study used salivary cotinine to assess the impact of change in smoking exposure on birth weight in full-term infants. METHODS: In a prenatal smoking cessation study, smoking status was validated by saliva cotinine at baseline and end of pregnancy (EOP). Salivary cotinine ≥15 ng/ml defined active smoking. Based on salivary cotinine, women were grouped as nonsmoking/quit, light exposure (<150 ng/ml), and heavy exposure (≥150 ng/ml) at baseline and EOP. EOP and baseline smoking status were stratified to form smoking exposure change groups. Mean birth weight was compared among those who quit, reduced, maintained, and increased. RESULTS: Smoking cessation was associated with a 299 g increase in birth weight compared with sustained heavy smoking, p = .021. Reduced exposure from heavy to light was associated with a 199 g increase in birth weight compared with sustained heavy exposure, a 103 g increase compared with increased exposure, and a 63 g increase compared with sustained light exposure. Differences among continuing smokers were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although not statistically significant, the increase in infant birth weight associated with reduction from heavy to light exposure suggests potential for benefit. The only statistically significant comparison was between quitters and sustained heavy smokers, confirming that smoking cessation should remain the goal for pregnant women.

Coordination and management of multicenter clinical studies in trauma: Experience from the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study.

AIM: Early death due to hemorrhage is a major consequence of traumatic injury. Transfusion practices differ among hospitals and it is unknown which transfusion practices improve survival. This report describes the experience of the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study Data Coordination Center in designing and coordinating a study to examine transfusion practices at ten Level 1 trauma centers in the US. METHODS: PROMMTT was a multisite prospective observational study of severely injured transfused trauma patients. The clinical sites collected real-time information on the timing and amounts of blood product infusions as well as colloids and crystalloids, vital signs, initial diagnostic and clinical laboratory tests, life saving interventions and other clinical care data. RESULTS: Between July 2009 and October 2010, PROMMTT screened 12,561 trauma admissions and enrolled 1245 patients who received one or more blood transfusions within 6h of Emergency Department (ED) admission. A total of 297 massive transfusions were observed over the course of the study at a combined rate of 5.0 massive transfusion patients/week. CONCLUSION: PROMMTT is the first multisite study to collect real-time prospective data on trauma patients requiring transfusion. Support from the Department of Defense and collaborative expertise from the ten participating centers helped to demonstrate the feasibility of prospective trauma transfusion studies. The observational data collected from this study will be an invaluable resource for research in trauma surgery and it will guide the design and conduct of future randomized trials.

Ultrasound feedback and motivational interviewing targeting smoking cessation in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and child health outcomes. Effective interventions to increase smoking cessation rates are needed particularly for pregnant women unable to quit in their first trimester. Real-time ultrasound feedback focused on potential effects of smoking on the fetus may be an effective treatment adjunct, improving smoking outcomes. METHODS: A prospective randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention consisting of personalized feedback during ultrasound plus motivational interviewing-based counseling sessions. Pregnant smokers (N = 360) between 16 and 26 weeks of gestation were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Best Practice (BP) only, Best Practice plus ultrasound feedback (BP+US), or Motivational Interviewing-based counseling plus ultrasound feedback (MI+US). Assessments were conducted at baseline and end of pregnancy (EOP). RESULTS: Analyses of cotinine-verified self-reported smoking status at EOP indicated that 10.8% of the BP group was not smoking at EOP; 14.2% in the BP+US condition and 18.3% who received MI+US were abstinent, but differences were not statistically significant. Intervention effects were found conditional upon level of baseline smoking, however. Nearly 34% of light smokers (< or =10 cigarettes/day) in the MI+US condition were abstinent at EOP, followed by 25.8% and 15.6% in the BP+US and BP conditions, respectively. Heavy smokers (>10 cigarettes/day) were notably unaffected by the intervention. DISCUSSION: Future research should confirm benefit of motivational interviewing plus ultrasound feedback for pregnant light smokers and explore mechanisms of action. Innovative interventions for pregnant women smoking at high levels are sorely needed.

Sociodemographic differences in exposure to health information.

OBJECTIVE: Baseline data from the Heart Attack REACT Study provided the opportunity to explore population subgroup differences in exposure to health information in an ethnically diverse sample from 5 regions across the United States. METHODS: During the 4-month baseline period of the REACT study, some 1,200 residents from the 20 study communities were surveyed using random digit dial telephone methods. Respondents were asked to recall health messages seen and/or heard recently, and the sources of these messages. Comparisons were made between sociodemographic subgroups defined by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, work status, and geographic location. RESULTS: Except for education level differences, the amount of exposure to health information did not vary significantly by sociodemographics; however, significant variation among subgroups in the types of messages cited and the sources of these messages was observed. Minority and low-income groups were found to have less exposure to chronic disease prevention information, eg, on nutrition, exercise, and heart disease. Additionally, the sources of health information most popular among sociodemographic subgroups appeared to be a determining factor in the types of messages received. CONCLUSIONS: The results of these analyses support previous findings, adding to the sparse body of information on the best channels for reaching under-served populations.