e-Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2020

Building capacity from within - upskilling healthcare professionals to lead an evidence-based implementation approach (#271)

Natalie Taylor 1 2 , April Morrow 1 , Priscilla Chan 1 , Emily Hogden 1 , Gabriella Tiernan 1 , Julia Steinberg 1 , Kathy Tucker 3 4 , Luke Wolfenden 5 , Deborah Debono 6
  1. Cancer Council NSW, Woolloomooloo, NSW, Australia
  2. Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Hereditary Cancer Clinic, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  4. Prince of Wales Clinical School, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
  6. Centre for Health Services Management, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Background  

Translating evidence into complex health systems is an ongoing challenge. Hospital-based implementation trials are often led by external researchers who, despite expertise in implementation science, lack the necessary understanding of the inner workings of the healthcare system. Partnerships with behavioural scientists to upskill healthcare professionals to lead evidence-based implementation approaches may be more sustainable for effective translation. However, limited guidance exists on the implementation training and support needs of healthcare professionals, and few training programs have been described or evaluated to date.  

 

Method 

The Hide and Seek Project (HaSP) is a cluster randomised controlled trial testing two implementation approaches for improving hereditary cancer referral at eight Australian hospitals. Nine healthcare professionals were recruited from hospitals as ‘Implementation Leads’ and trained via a one-day workshop. Ongoing support is provided by the researchers via teleconferencing prior to key study activities. Implementation Leads participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their perceptions of the training program. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Training contents will be presented. 

Results 

Nine Implementation Leads from various professional backgrounds completed the workshop, all of whom participated in post-training interviews. Four key themes were identified: (1) workshop feedback, (2) knowledge and skills, (3) implementation barriers and facilitators, and (4) building health system capacity for implementation. The workshop was positively received, and participants felt well-supported by the research team. A number of areas for improvement were identified.  

Conclusion 

Whilst maximising the potential for HaSP trial success, this training has the potential for a prolonged impact within the health system, with healthcare professionals having gained knowledge and skills they felt were transferrable to other clinical contexts. Insights from the evaluation will guide future efforts to deliver training on a larger scale across a range of healthcare contexts.