The Hope Research Community of Practice: Building Advanced Practice Nurses' Research Capacity.

Background Clinical nurses have multiple challenges in conducting high-quality nursing research to inform practice. Theoretically, the development of a community of practice on nursing research centered on the concept of hope is an approach that may address some of the challenges. Purpose This article describes the delivery and evaluation of a hope research community of practice (HRCoP) approach to facilitate research expertise in a group of advanced practice nurses in one hospital.

A narrative evaluation of a community-based nurse navigation role in an urban at-risk community.

Aims: To explore community members' stories of their experiences with a Nurse Navigator programme serving an urban neighbourhood and primary care practice to address persistent health and social barriers adversely affecting health equity and well-being.

Background: In response to striking health and social inequalities existing across neighbourhoods in a large southern city in Ontario, Canada, a pilot programme was designed to improve health and social outcomes in a specific "at-risk" neighbourhood. The programme includes nurse-led navigation support for individuals and families and networking to facilitate improved service integration at a systems level.

Uncertainty and alternate level of care: a narrative study of the older patient and family caregiver experience.

Older adults in Canada who have multiple illnesses and are awaiting placement in long-term care are greatly impacted by alternate level of care (ALC). The purpose of this narrative study was to record the experiences of hospitalized older adults and their family caregivers after the patient is designated as requiring ALC. The researchers conducted 21 interviews with 5 older patients and 4 of their family caregivers.

The nurse as bricoleur in falls prevention: learning from a case study of the implementation of fall prevention best practices.

Background: Falls prevention in "real-life" clinical practice is a complex undertaking. Nurses play an active and essential role in falls prevention.

Aim: This discussion paper presents a picture of the nurse as a bricoleur in falls prevention, requiring knowledge in many areas and the ability to perform multiple diverse tasks.

Using Stake's qualitative case study approach to explore implementation of evidence-based practice.

Although the use of qualitative case study research has increased during the past decade, researchers have primarily reported on their findings, with less attention given to methods. When methods were described, they followed the principles of Yin; researchers paid less attention to the equally important work of Stake. When Stake's methods were acknowledged, researchers frequently used them along with Yin's.

The development of an assessment and intervention falls guide for older hospitalized adults with cardiac conditions.

Background: Older patients with chronic cardiac conditions are more vulnerable to falls and injuries. Cardiovascular conditions, prevalent in older people, are also the frequent cause of potentially harmful fall injuries among this group. The need to identify the fall risk-related factors that cluster with arrhythmia and syncope is relevant as it will potentially reduce patients' risk for falls and fall injuries.

The real world journey of implementing fall prevention best practices in three acute care hospitals: a case study.

Background: Globally, falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury. In Canada, falls that occur in hospitals have been ranked second as an area of patient safety concern. Many Canadian hospitals seeking to achieve patient safety, accreditation and resource containment goals are implementing evidence-based practices in fall prevention.

Transformative learning through a research practicum for undergraduate nursing students.

In their final year of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program, students are required to take a research practicum related to clinical practice in a new or ongoing research project, supervised by nursing faculty. This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of the research process. The student's potential role as a research collaborator is emphasized.

Recovery-oriented service provision and clinical outcomes in assertive community treatment.

Objective: While the term "recovery" is routinely referenced in clinical services and health policy, few studies have examined the relationship between recovery-oriented service provision and client outcomes. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between recovery-orientation of service provision for persons with severe mental illnesses and outcomes in Assertive Community Treatment (ACT).

Methods: Client, family, staff, and manager ratings of service recovery-orientation and outcomes across a range of service utilization and community functioning indicators were examined among 67 ACT teams in Ontario, Canada.

Fidelity and recovery-orientation in assertive community treatment.

There has been increasing commentary about the degree to which Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams provide recovery-oriented services, often centered around the question of the use of coercion. The present study was designed to contribute to this discussion through an examination of recovery-oriented service provision and ACT fidelity among 67 teams in the province of Ontario, Canada. The findings indicated a moderate to high degree of recovery orientation in service provision, with no significant relationship between ACT fidelity and consumer and family/key support ratings of recovery orientation.

A narrative framework for understanding experiences of people with severe mental illnesses.

This article discusses the value of a narrative approach to understand the experiences of people with severe mental illnesses and the systems around them, and the importance of narrative in the patient-practitioner relationship. These are important concepts in the shift to recovery-oriented systems. People lead storied lives which provide coherence and meaning, but that story has the potential to be change.

Implementing program-wide awareness about recovery in a large mental health and addictions program.

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton conceptualized a multi-step plan for implementing a recovery oriented service delivery approach within their Mental Health and Addictions Program. This brief report discusses the first phase of this plan which included building awareness of recovery utilizing Anthony's (2000) system standards to develop a needs assessment for managers and senior team members.

Understanding those who seek frequent psychiatric hospitalizations.

In the period after deinstitutionalization, there has been a rise in hospital readmission rates. It is estimated that the readmission rate for individuals who are frequent users of psychiatric inpatient services is approximately 40% to 50% within 1 year of hospital discharge. Attempts to determine predictors of recidivism have identified multiple variables, some of which are mutually contradictory.