IntroductionResearch indicates that health service boards can influence quality of care. However, government reviews have indicated that board members may not be as effective as possible in attaining this goal. Simulation-based training may help to increase board members’ ability to effectively communicate and hold hospital staff to account during board meetings.Methods and analysisTo test effectiveness and feasibility, a prospective, cluster-randomised controlled trial will be used to compare simulation-based training with no training. Primary outcome variables will include board members’ perceived skill and confidence in communicating effectively during board meetings, and board members’ perceptions of board meeting processes. These measures will be collected both immediately before training, and 3 months post-training, with boards randomly assigned to intervention or control arms. Primary analyses will comprise generalised estimating equations examining training effects on each of the primary outcomes. Secondary analyses will examine participants’ feedback on the training.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics approval has been granted by Monash University (reference number: 2018-12076). We aim to disseminate results through peer-reviewed journal publication, conference presentation and social media.Trial registration numberOpen Science Framework: http://osf.io/jaxt6/; Pre-results.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Effectiveness of an influenza vaccine programme for care home staff to prevent death, morbidity, and health service use among residents: cluster randomised controlled trial.
