Implementing Early Warning Messages on Emerging Health Technologies

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Mowatt ◽  
Mary Ann Thomson ◽  
Jeremy Grimshaw ◽  
Adrian Grant

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine how horizon-scanning organizations can encourage the implementation of recommendations contained in their early warning messages about emerging health technologies. We reviewed the conclusions of the EUR-ASSESS Project Subgroup report on dissemination and impact, an overview of systematic reviews of interventions to promote implementation of research findings by health care professionals, and various Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group protocols and reviews. The evidence on the effectiveness of different implementation strategies aimed at distinct target groups is of variable quality. There is some evidence from rigorous study designs on the effectiveness of strategies designed to influence the behavior of health care professionals; the quality of the evidence relating to policy makers and the general public is more limited. Horizon-scanning organizations can improve the likelihood of their recommendations being acted upon by developing active implementation strategies based on the best available evidence, establishing links with key groups, and directing early warning messages at specific target audiences. Given the relative lack of good quality evidence, it is important that implementation strategies be rigorously evaluated to determine their effectiveness.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Lamper ◽  
Ivan PJ Huijnen ◽  
Mariëlle EAL Kroese ◽  
Albère J Köke ◽  
Gijs Brouwer ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and aims: Integration of care is lacking for chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) patients. Network Pain Rehabilitation Limburg (NPRL), a transmural health care network, has been designed to provide integrated rehabilitation care from a biopsychosocial perspective to improve patients’ levels of functioning. This feasibility study aims to provide insight into barriers and facilitators for the development, implementation, and transferability of NPRL.Methods: This study was conducted with a three-phase iterative and incremental design from October 2017 to October 2018. NPRL comprises two rehabilitation practices, and three local primary care networks, with a general practitioner together with, a mental health practice nurse, and a physiotherapist or exercise therapist. These stakeholders with a random sample of participating patients took part in evaluations, consisting of interviews, focus groups, and observations. Field notes and observations were recorded during meetings. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided data collection and analysis. Results were used to refine the next phase.Results: According to health care professionals (HCPs), guidelines and treatment protocols facilitate consistency and transparency in collaboration, biopsychosocial language, and treatment. One barrier is stigmatization of CMP in society. Non-participating HCPs’ treatment approaches are often more biomedical than biopsychosocial, causing patients to resist participating in NPRL. The current organization of health care, with cultural, structural, and financial aspects, acts as a barrier, complicating implementation between and within practices. HCPs preferred the iterative, bottom-up strategy. A critical mass of participating organizations is needed for proper implementation.Conclusion: NPRL is feasible in daily practice if barriers are overcome and facilitators of development, implementation, and transferability are promoted. These findings will be used to refine NPRL. A large-scale process and effect evaluation will be performed. Our implementation strategies and results may assist other health care organizations aspiring to implement a transmural network using a similar model.


2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill Green ◽  
Hannah Bradby ◽  
Anita Chan ◽  
Maggy Lee ◽  
Kimmy Eldridge

Objectives: To identify barriers to communication between health care workers and Chinese women living in England, a group who are known to use the National Health Service (NHS) less than other ethnic groups; to consider whether such barriers lead to inequitable access to NHS mental health treatment; and to determine the extent to which this results from institutional racism. Method: A purposive sample of 42 Chinese women living in South-East England aged 29-60 years derived from a primary care group, two secondary mental health service providers and three Chinese associations. Subjects had all consulted a general practitioner and had either experienced mental distress ( n = 24) and/or had used traditional Chinese medicine ( n = 25). Results: Communication with health care professionals was hindered by a lack of common language and an absence of shared concepts concerning the causes and manifestations of health and illness, particularly mental health. This lack of communication resulted in delayed diagnoses, misunderstood treatment regimens and deterred women from (re-)presenting to the NHS. Among our informants, these types of problem were more acute for those women who were most marginalised from English-language culture. Conclusions: Linguistic and conceptual problems explain Chinese women's relatively poor access to mental health services. The continuing failure to tackle systematically these communication problems through the routine provision of interpretation and advocacy services lays the health care system open to the charge of 'institutional racism'.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Petracca ◽  
Oriana Ciani ◽  
Maria Cucciniello ◽  
Rosanna Tarricone

UNSTRUCTURED A common development observed during the COVID-19 pandemic is the renewed reliance on digital health technologies. Prior to the pandemic, the uptake of digital health technologies to directly strengthen public health systems had been unsatisfactory; however, a relentless acceleration took place within health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, digital health technologies could not be prescinded from the organizational and institutional merits of the systems in which they were introduced. The Italian National Health Service is strongly decentralized, with the national government exercising general stewardship and regions responsible for the delivery of health care services. Together with the substantial lack of digital efforts previously, these institutional characteristics resulted in delays in the uptake of appropriate solutions, territorial differences, and issues in engaging the appropriate health care professionals during the pandemic. An in-depth analysis of the organizational context is instrumental in fully interpreting the contribution of digital health during the pandemic and providing the foundation for the digital reconstruction of what is to come after.


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 36-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances S Mair ◽  
Carl May ◽  
Tracy Finch ◽  
Elizabeth Murray ◽  
George Anderson ◽  
...  

We are conducting a multicentre, mixed methods study to examine the attitudes of health professionals to e-health in order to identify strategies to support increased uptake and utilization of e-health services. The first part of the work is a systematic literature review. After searching five electronic databases, a total of 66 review papers were identified which concerned barriers and facilitators to the implementation of e-health. Examination of the main themes from these reviews identified three major types of barriers/facilitators: (1) technology design factors, (2) health professional interactions, and (3) organizational factors. The utilization of e-health technologies by health-care professionals is complex, as demonstrated by the preliminary findings of the literature review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anusree Subramonian

Horizon Scan reports provide brief summaries of information regarding new and emerging health technologies. These technologies are identified through the CADTH Horizon Scanning Service as topics of potential interest to health care decision-makers in Canada. This Horizon Scan summarizes the available information regarding an emerging technology, Phagenyx, a pharyngeal electrical stimulation device for the treatment of difficulty swallowing associated with neurologic conditions.


10.2196/17004 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. e17004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira-Sebastian Poncette ◽  
Pablo-David Rojas ◽  
Joscha Hofferbert ◽  
Alvaro Valera Sosa ◽  
Felix Balzer ◽  
...  

Background Until recently, developing health technologies was time-consuming and expensive, and often involved patients, doctors, and other health care professionals only as passive recipients of the end product. So far, users have been minimally involved in the ideation and creation stages of digital health technologies. In order to best address users’ unmet needs, a transdisciplinary and user-led approach, involving cocreation and direct user feedback, is required. In this context, hackathon events have become increasingly popular in generating enthusiasm for user-centered innovation. Objective This case study describes preparatory steps and the performance of a health hackathon directly involving patients and health care professionals at all stages. Feasibility and outcomes were assessed, leading to the development of systematic recommendations for future hackathons as a vehicle for bottom-up innovation in health care. Methods A 2-day hackathon was conducted in February 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Data were collected through a field study. Collected field notes were subsequently discussed in 15 informal meetings among the research team. Experiences of conducting two further hackathons in December 2017 and November 2018 were included. Results In total, 30 participants took part, with 63% (19/30) of participants between 25 and 34 years of age, 30% (9/30) between 35 and 44 years of age, and 7% (2/30) younger than 25 years of age. A total of 43% (13/30) of the participants were female. The participation rate of medical experts, including patients and health care professionals, was 30% (9/30). Five multidisciplinary teams were formed and each tackled a specific health care problem. All presented projects were apps: a chatbot for skin cancer recognition, an augmented reality exposure-based therapy (eg, for arachnophobia), an app for medical neighborhood connectivity, a doctor appointment platform, and a self-care app for people suffering from depression. Patients and health care professionals initiated all of the projects. Conducting the hackathon resulted in significant growth of the digital health community of Berlin and was followed up by larger hackathons. Systematic recommendations for conducting cost-efficient hackathons (n≤30) were developed, including aspects of community building, stakeholder engagement, mentoring, themes, announcements, follow-up, and timing for each step. Conclusions This study shows that hackathons are effective in bringing innovation to health care and are more cost- and time-efficient and potentially more sustainable than traditional medical device and digital product development. Our systematic recommendations can be useful to other individuals and organizations that want to establish user-led innovation in academic hospitals by conducting transdisciplinary hackathons.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira-Sebastian Poncette ◽  
Pablo-David Rojas ◽  
Joscha Hofferbert ◽  
Alvaro Valera Sosa ◽  
Felix Balzer ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Until recently, developing health technologies was time-consuming and expensive, and often involved patients, doctors, and other health care professionals only as passive recipients of the end product. So far, users have been minimally involved in the ideation and creation stages of digital health technologies. In order to best address users’ unmet needs, a transdisciplinary and user-led approach, involving cocreation and direct user feedback, is required. In this context, hackathon events have become increasingly popular in generating enthusiasm for user-centered innovation. OBJECTIVE This case study describes preparatory steps and the performance of a health hackathon directly involving patients and health care professionals at all stages. Feasibility and outcomes were assessed, leading to the development of systematic recommendations for future hackathons as a vehicle for bottom-up innovation in health care. METHODS A 2-day hackathon was conducted in February 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Data were collected through a field study. Collected field notes were subsequently discussed in 15 informal meetings among the research team. Experiences of conducting two further hackathons in December 2017 and November 2018 were included. RESULTS In total, 30 participants took part, with 63% (19/30) of participants between 25 and 34 years of age, 30% (9/30) between 35 and 44 years of age, and 7% (2/30) younger than 25 years of age. A total of 43% (13/30) of the participants were female. The participation rate of medical experts, including patients and health care professionals, was 30% (9/30). Five multidisciplinary teams were formed and each tackled a specific health care problem. All presented projects were apps: a chatbot for skin cancer recognition, an augmented reality exposure-based therapy (eg, for arachnophobia), an app for medical neighborhood connectivity, a doctor appointment platform, and a self-care app for people suffering from depression. Patients and health care professionals initiated all of the projects. Conducting the hackathon resulted in significant growth of the digital health community of Berlin and was followed up by larger hackathons. Systematic recommendations for conducting cost-efficient hackathons (n≤30) were developed, including aspects of community building, stakeholder engagement, mentoring, themes, announcements, follow-up, and timing for each step. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that hackathons are effective in bringing innovation to health care and are more cost- and time-efficient and potentially more sustainable than traditional medical device and digital product development. Our systematic recommendations can be useful to other individuals and organizations that want to establish user-led innovation in academic hospitals by conducting transdisciplinary hackathons.


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