Models, strategies, and tools. Theory in implementing evidence-based findings into health care practice.

This paper presents a case for careful consideration of theory in planning to implement evidence-based practices into clinical care. As described, theory should be tightly linked to strategic planning through careful choice or creation of an implementation framework. Strategies should be linked to specific interventions and/or intervention components to be implemented, and the choice of tools should match the interventions and overall strategy, linking back to the original theory and framework.

Understanding health care organization needs and context. Beyond performance gaps.

Significant efforts have been invested in improving our understanding of how to accelerate and magnify the impact of research on clinical practice. While approaches to fostering translation of research into practice are numerous, none appears to be superior and the evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. Lessons learned from formative evaluation have given us a greater appreciation of the contribution of context to successful implementation of quality improvement interventions.

Lessons learned about implementing research evidence into clinical practice. Experiences from VA QUERI.

The mission of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) quality enhancement research initiative (QUERI) is to enhance the quality of VHA health care by implementing clinical research findings into routine care. This paper presents lessons that QUERI investigators have learned through their initial attempts to pursue the QUERI mission. The lessons in this paper represent those that were common across multiple QUERI projects and were mutually agreed on as having substantial impact on the success of implementation.

A randomized trial of direct mailing of fecal occult blood tests to increase colorectal cancer screening.

Background: Although colorectal cancer screening by using a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, or barium enema x-ray reduces the incidence of and death from colorectal cancer, the rate of colorectal cancer screening in the general population is low. We conducted a randomized trial consisting of direct mailing of FOBT kits to increase colorectal cancer screening among residents of Wright County, Minnesota, a community in which colorectal cancer screening was promoted.

Methods: At baseline, we mailed a questionnaire about colorectal cancer screening to a random sample of Wright County residents aged 50 years or older who were randomly selected from the Minnesota State Driver's License and Identification Card database (estimated N = 1451).

Colorectal cancer screening adherence in a general population.

Background: This article describes the self-reported colorectal cancer (CRC) screening adherence rates of adults, aged 50 years and older, living in five nonurban Minnesota counties.

Methods: During the year 2000, 1693 eligible respondents, aged 50 years and older, from a randomly selected sample completed a survey assessing CRC screening adherence (approximately 86.3% response).

Understanding variation in chronic disease outcomes.

We propose an explanation for variation in disease outcomes based on patient adaptation to the conditions of chronic disease. We develop a model of patient adaptation using the example of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and assumptions about the process entailed in transforming self-care behaviors of compliance with treatment, compliance with glucose monitoring, and patient's knowledge seeking behavior into health outcomes of glycemic control and patient satisfaction. Using data from 609 adults with diagnosed Type 2 diabetes we develop an efficiency (fitness) frontier in order to identify best practice (maximally adapted) patients and forms (archetypes) of patient inefficiency.