Development of the Cardiovascular Assessment Screening Program (CASP) using the qualitative findings of a mixed methods study and applying the TDF to address the barriers of and facilitators to comprehensive screening for cardiovascular disease.

Background: There is inconsistent utilisation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening and management by healthcare professionals to identify CVD risk factors early and to intervene using current recommendations. This manuscript reports on the first phase of an exploratory sequential mixed methods study describing the integration of the qualitative study findings with the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) that led to the development of the Cardiovascular Assessment Screening Program (CASP). The main objective of the qualitative study was to inform the development of CASP.

Methods: Focus groups (5) and interviews (10) were conducted in rural and urban settings in one Canadian province with target health professionals, managers in health care organizations, and the public to obtain different perspectives to inform the CASP intervention. Three focus groups were held with nurse practitioners and two with members of the public; individual interviews were conducted with target groups as well. Application of the TDF provided a comprehensive approach to determine the main factors influencing clinician behaviour, to assess the implementation process, and to support intervention design. Behaviour change techniques, modes of delivery, and intervention components were selected for the development of the CASP.

Results: Themes identified such lack of knowledge about comprehensive screening, ambiguity around responsibility for screening, lack of time and commitment to screening were addressed in the components of the CASP intervention that were developed, including a website, education module, decision tools, and a toolkit.

Conclusion: CASP is a theory-informed intervention developed through the integration of the findings from the focus groups and interviews with selected TDF domains, behaviour change techniques, and modes of delivery available in the local context that may be a useful approach for knowledge translation of evidence into practice.