scholarly journals Implementing evidence-based practice: the challenge of delivering what works for people with learning disabilities at risk of behaviours that challenge

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-143
Author(s):  
Louise D. Denne ◽  
Nick J. Gore ◽  
J. Carl Hughes ◽  
Sandy Toogood ◽  
Edwin Jones ◽  
...  

Purpose There is an apparent disconnect between the understanding of best practice and service delivery in the support of people with learning disabilities at risk of behaviours that challenge. We suggest, is a problem of implementation. The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons why this might be the case: a failure to recognise the collective works of successive generations of research and practice; and a failure to address the macro-systems involved and systems changes needed to support implementation. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the consensus that exists in respect of best practice. Drawing upon ideas from implementation science the paper highlights the complexities involved in the implementation of all evidence-based practices and uses this as a framework to propose ways in which an infrastructure that facilitates the delivery of services in the learning disabilities field might be built. Findings This paper highlights core recommended practices that have been consistent over time and across sources and identifies the systems involved in the implementation process. This paper demonstrates that many of the necessary building blocks of implementation already exist and suggests areas that are yet to be addressed. Critically, the paper highlights the importance of, and the part that all systems need to play in the process. Originality/value In the absence of any generalised implementation frameworks of evidence-based practice in the learning disabilities field, the paper suggests that the findings may provide the basis for understanding how the gap that exists between best practice and service delivery in the support of people with a learning disability at risk of behaviours that challenge might be closed.

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Steven Carnaby

Purpose This paper aims to provide a commentary on papers in this special edition concerning the implementation of evidence-based practice from a clinician’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach The commentary makes a number of points drawing on both recent literature and the author’s own experience working as a clinician with children and adults with learning disabilities including those who are autistic whose behaviours can challenge themselves, their parents, carers and support networks. Findings Effective implementation requires clinical expertise to operate within a context of collaboration and partnership working, where co-production with those who have lived experience ensures that what clinicians offer resonates and contributes to improvements in quality of life for all. Originality/value The paper will be of value to clinicians working alongside children and adults with learning disabilities and their families, particularly clinical psychologists and behaviour specialists, and to other stakeholders wanting to enable and facilitate the development of high-quality support.


Author(s):  
Andria Hanbury ◽  
Hannah Wood

Purpose This paper aims to develop a behavioural science informed communication strategy aimed at health professionals and patients promoting best practice recommendations regarding the use of specialist liquid medicines for elderly people with swallowing difficulties. Design/methodology/approach The medicine prescribing, formulation and administration related challenges and experiences of health professionals and elderly patients with swallowing difficulties were identified through a pragmatic literature search. Key findings across the papers were synthesised into themes, before being linked to domains from a behavioural science framework. Published recommendations for behaviour change techniques that can be used to target the domains were then mapped to the domains. Guidance on how to develop a communication strategy, drawing on the insight gained from the literature review and the behavioural science recommendations, and designed to stimulate change in health-care professionals’ and patients’ behaviours, was then developed. Findings In total, 13 themes emerged across 15 papers, including “patient and health professional roles and remits”. These themes were linked to nine domains from the framework, highlighting the range of individual, social and environmental factors influencing patients’ and health professionals’ perceptions and experiences. A summary table, mapping the domains and underpinning themes to recommended behaviour change techniques, was used to develop the subsequent communication strategy recommendations. Recommendations include using techniques such as providing social processes of encourage, pressure and support to change patients’ and health professionals’ perceptions of their roles/responsibilities in medicines prescribing and administration, delivered via, for example, an educational leaflet and/or online training. Practical implications The summary table and guidance can inform development of an evidence-based strategy for communicating best practice recommendations regarding the use of liquid medicines for elderly patients with swallowing difficulties, tailored to the perceptions and challenges identified. Originality/value The behavioural science approach is less established within the pharmaceutical industry for promotion of best practice recommendations and related products, yet it offers a framework for an evidence-based and systematic approach that goes beyond a literature review or focus group.


1998 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Hayes ◽  
John J. McGrath

This paper describes how occupational therapists can become involved in the Cochrane Collaboration — a well-developed tool for facilitating the involvement of health professionals and lay people in evidence-based practice. The Cochrane Collaboration is a growing international project intended to systematically locate, conduct systematic reviews (including metaanalyses) of, and disseminate information on all available randomised controlled trials of interventions in any area of health. In particular, occupational therapists can use the Cochrane Collaboration to become better informed about best practice and evaluate research in their areas of interest, and learn skills related to conducting randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-190
Author(s):  
Ann Hallyburton

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine healthcare professionals’ own health literacy through the lenses of information behavior and evidence-based practice. These practitioners’ health information literacy is critical to client care. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper applies general and professional-specific models of information behavior and issues of bias to methods in which healthcare practitioners seek, evaluate and use research information within professional practice. Findings Case examples from library, medical and the broader healthcare literature are used to explore ways in which care professionals’ information behaviors align with or deviate from information behavior models and the role of different types of bias in their information behavior. Adaption of evidence-based practice precepts, already familiar to healthcare professionals, is proposed as a method to improve practitioners’ health information literacy. Originality/value Explorations of “health literacy” have primarily focused on healthcare consumers’ interactions with basic health information and services. The health literacy (and health information literacy) of care practitioners has received much less attention. By gaining a greater understanding of how information behaviors intersect with healthcare practitioners’ own health literacy, the librarians and educators who serve future and current care professionals can offer more informed information literacy instruction, enabling practitioners to provide improved patient care.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Olff ◽  
Cynthia Clark-Wadkins

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has become more than just a trendy buzzword in health care; EBP validates care delivery methods and grants satisfaction to nurses in knowing the care they provide is based on valid, current information. Research-based enhancements are paramount to the advancement of nursing practice and prompt the implementation of creative methods to improve care. The advent of the tele–intensive care unit (ICU) introduces new members of the health care team to assist with implementation of EBP initiatives. This new partnership results in improved length of stay, mortality rates, and ventilator times for critical care patients. Current literature suggests that a clinician-driven, standardized ventilator management protocol is of significant benefit. Tele-ICU clinicians provide an interactive element to coordinate interdisciplinary team efforts. Enhanced communication, data evaluation, and timely intervention expedite the weaning process and reduce ventilator length of stay. Consistent collaboration between tele-ICU and bedside clinicians successfully improves patient outcomes through standardized adherence to best-practice initiatives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betsy Stringam ◽  
John Gerdes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how well hotel website load time performance compared against customer expectation benchmarks. In a competitive market, service interactions are important. As customers move to mobile devices, the time to load a website is a critical part of the service delivery. Long load times can lead to poor service experiences, customer frustration and lost business. Hotel website load times on both mobile and desktop devices were examined and compared to service expectations. Design/methodology/approach The study used an online service to assess and compare website load performance using both desktop and mobile devices for 259 international hotel company and sub-brand websites. Findings The time to load hotel websites was significantly slower on mobile devices compared to desktops. Load times on both platforms exceeded 3 s, which is considered best practice. Long load times represent a service gap and can cause dissatisfaction resulting in a potential customer abandoning the website for a competitor’s site, thus affecting sales. Research limitations/implications While the population for the study was robust in size and contained most of the major hotel companies worldwide, it was not exhaustive. Data also represent a snapshot and will change over time. Load times vary based on test location, access device and network traffic. Additionally, web page load times and customer expectations will change as technology evolves. Originality/value Increased use of mobile devices for hotel reservations increases the importance of mobile service delivery. This is the first known study to measure hotel website load times for mobile devices, and to examine both mobile and desktop performance against best practice. The results of this study highlight a service gap, which can lead to loss of business. Given the consistency of the results, the authors suspect that this is an issue that has not been recognized within the industry. This study is valuable because it exposes an issue of website design not generally addressed in the hospitality industry, even though tools are available to monitor site performance.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin A. Schams ◽  
Jackie K. Kuennen

This article reports an innovative teaching strategy consisting of learning units whereby students come to postconference sessions prepared to share evidence-based practice (EBP) information associated with upcoming laboratory concepts, discover relationships among laboratory concepts and current nursing practice, and associate personal clinical experiences with the practice environment. This strategy, named “Building Blocks,” represents one method to transform nursing education into a more active process, and also has the potential to prepare graduates who can function in a dynamic health care environment incorporating EBP.


2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Graham ◽  
Tracey E. Hall

In today’s world, writing is an essential skill. At school, writing is often used to gauge students’ understanding of content material as well as to promote the learning of it. Students with learning disabilities (LD) and those at risk for writing difficulties experience considerable difficulty with almost every aspect of writing. The field of LD is developing a reasonable foundation of knowledge about what and how students with LD and those at risk for LD write. The articles in this series contribute to our growing knowledge of how students with LD struggle with the writing process and can benefit from evidence-based practices, beginning in elementary school and continuing into college. The purpose of this article is to introduce the special series on writing and writing difficulties. Three of the articles are included in this issue, and the two remaining articles will appear in the next issue. This introduction provides readers with the rationale for the series, the purpose of each article, and a brief overview of each contribution.


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