Management of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in an emergency department setting is challenging due to the complexity of the disease and the multi-disciplinary care environment, leading to the need for standardized protocols to ensure patient safety and care quality. Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for ACS are prevalent but they are not directly applicable in the ED setting due to their complex narrative nature. In this thesis we present a knowledge modeling solution, using semantic web technologies, to computerize the ACS CPG published by the American Heart Association. Our knowledge modeling approach provides a modular characterization of the CPG knowledge and offers unique mechanisms to (a) update the knowledge model in response to periodic CPG updates; and (b) streamline the ACS management clinical pathway in response to resource constraints at an institution. The computerized CPG will serve as an ACS management decision support system, targeting tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in primary health care can substantially improve health promotion, early disease detection and the reduction of the burden of chronic disease. However, the implementation of evidence into clinical practice is a highly complex endeavour that has been said to occur in a 'black box‘, defying easily reached explanations of how it happens in practice. The aim of this study is to explore the 'black box‘ of guideline implementation associated with primary health care nurses‘ use of a guideline that targets high health need populations in a region of New Zealand. The potential for improvement of cardiovascular health overall and the reduction of the marked disparities between Mäori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-Mäori drives the imperative to enact the recommendations of the Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. Primary health care nurses are well positioned at the frontline of healthcare to implement the guideline and an investigation of the realities of their practice as they do so will help to illuminate the contents of this particular 'black box‘. The aim is achieved in two components by: 1. Exploring the complexities of primary health care nurses‘ use of the New Zealand Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. 2. Employing the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework to identify the enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in the primary health care setting. Method Both components of this study involve qualitative methods. The first component involves qualitative description utilising focus groups and interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences of a range of primary health care professionals involved in implementing the AMCVR guideline and thematic analysis of data. The second component utilises template analysis of the data, based on the Promoting Action of Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework. There are three elements of the PARiHS framework: Evidence, Context and Facilitation. This second component of the study is a systematic analysis of the enablers and barriers encountered by nurses as they implement the AMCVR guideline. Results The first component of the study generated four themes, which together have provided a rich portrait of the realities for nurses as they implemented the guideline. The four themes are self-managing client, everyday nursing practice, developing new relationships in the health team, and impact on health care delivery. The template analysis revealed that there were several enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in relation to Evidence and Context and that Facilitation was not occurring in a planned way. Conclusion Successful guideline implementation demands multidisciplinary, transformational practice development to create an effective workplace culture. Practice development is a powerful approach well suited to supporting primary health care nurses to maximise their practice-based knowledge and skills, and for them to contribute to the development of systems that will meet the information and communication requirements of successful guideline implementation. The imperative to improve cardiovascular health overall and specifically to address Mäori health inequity mandates sustained effort and mobilisation of resources to ensure successful implementation of the AMCVR guideline.

The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in primary health care can substantially improve health promotion, early disease detection and the reduction of the burden of chronic disease. However, the implementation of evidence into clinical practice is a highly complex endeavour that has been said to occur in a 'black box‘, defying easily reached explanations of how it happens in practice. The aim of this study is to explore the 'black box‘ of guideline implementation associated with primary health care nurses‘ use of a guideline that targets high health need populations in a region of New Zealand. The potential for improvement of cardiovascular health overall and the reduction of the marked disparities between Mäori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-Mäori drives the imperative to enact the recommendations of the Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. Primary health care nurses are well positioned at the frontline of healthcare to implement the guideline and an investigation of the realities of their practice as they do so will help to illuminate the contents of this particular 'black box‘. The aim is achieved in two components by: 1. Exploring the complexities of primary health care nurses‘ use of the New Zealand Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. 2. Employing the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework to identify the enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in the primary health care setting. Method Both components of this study involve qualitative methods. The first component involves qualitative description utilising focus groups and interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences of a range of primary health care professionals involved in implementing the AMCVR guideline and thematic analysis of data. The second component utilises template analysis of the data, based on the Promoting Action of Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework. There are three elements of the PARiHS framework: Evidence, Context and Facilitation. This second component of the study is a systematic analysis of the enablers and barriers encountered by nurses as they implement the AMCVR guideline. Results The first component of the study generated four themes, which together have provided a rich portrait of the realities for nurses as they implemented the guideline. The four themes are self-managing client, everyday nursing practice, developing new relationships in the health team, and impact on health care delivery. The template analysis revealed that there were several enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in relation to Evidence and Context and that Facilitation was not occurring in a planned way. Conclusion Successful guideline implementation demands multidisciplinary, transformational practice development to create an effective workplace culture. Practice development is a powerful approach well suited to supporting primary health care nurses to maximise their practice-based knowledge and skills, and for them to contribute to the development of systems that will meet the information and communication requirements of successful guideline implementation. The imperative to improve cardiovascular health overall and specifically to address Mäori health inequity mandates sustained effort and mobilisation of resources to ensure successful implementation of the AMCVR guideline.

The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in primary health care can substantially improve health promotion, early disease detection and the reduction of the burden of chronic disease. However, the implementation of evidence into clinical practice is a highly complex endeavour that has been said to occur in a 'black box‘, defying easily reached explanations of how it happens in practice. The aim of this study is to explore the 'black box‘ of guideline implementation associated with primary health care nurses‘ use of a guideline that targets high health need populations in a region of New Zealand. The potential for improvement of cardiovascular health overall and the reduction of the marked disparities between Mäori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-Mäori drives the imperative to enact the recommendations of the Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. Primary health care nurses are well positioned at the frontline of healthcare to implement the guideline and an investigation of the realities of their practice as they do so will help to illuminate the contents of this particular 'black box‘. The aim is achieved in two components by: 1. Exploring the complexities of primary health care nurses‘ use of the New Zealand Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. 2. Employing the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework to identify the enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in the primary health care setting. Method Both components of this study involve qualitative methods. The first component involves qualitative description utilising focus groups and interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences of a range of primary health care professionals involved in implementing the AMCVR guideline and thematic analysis of data. The second component utilises template analysis of the data, based on the Promoting Action of Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework. There are three elements of the PARiHS framework: Evidence, Context and Facilitation. This second component of the study is a systematic analysis of the enablers and barriers encountered by nurses as they implement the AMCVR guideline. Results The first component of the study generated four themes, which together have provided a rich portrait of the realities for nurses as they implemented the guideline. The four themes are self-managing client, everyday nursing practice, developing new relationships in the health team, and impact on health care delivery. The template analysis revealed that there were several enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in relation to Evidence and Context and that Facilitation was not occurring in a planned way. Conclusion Successful guideline implementation demands multidisciplinary, transformational practice development to create an effective workplace culture. Practice development is a powerful approach well suited to supporting primary health care nurses to maximise their practice-based knowledge and skills, and for them to contribute to the development of systems that will meet the information and communication requirements of successful guideline implementation. The imperative to improve cardiovascular health overall and specifically to address Mäori health inequity mandates sustained effort and mobilisation of resources to ensure successful implementation of the AMCVR guideline.

The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in primary health care can substantially improve health promotion, early disease detection and the reduction of the burden of chronic disease. However, the implementation of evidence into clinical practice is a highly complex endeavour that has been said to occur in a 'black box‘, defying easily reached explanations of how it happens in practice. The aim of this study is to explore the 'black box‘ of guideline implementation associated with primary health care nurses‘ use of a guideline that targets high health need populations in a region of New Zealand. The potential for improvement of cardiovascular health overall and the reduction of the marked disparities between Mäori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-Mäori drives the imperative to enact the recommendations of the Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. Primary health care nurses are well positioned at the frontline of healthcare to implement the guideline and an investigation of the realities of their practice as they do so will help to illuminate the contents of this particular 'black box‘. The aim is achieved in two components by: 1. Exploring the complexities of primary health care nurses‘ use of the New Zealand Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risk guideline. 2. Employing the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework to identify the enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in the primary health care setting. Method Both components of this study involve qualitative methods. The first component involves qualitative description utilising focus groups and interviews to explore the perceptions and experiences of a range of primary health care professionals involved in implementing the AMCVR guideline and thematic analysis of data. The second component utilises template analysis of the data, based on the Promoting Action of Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework. There are three elements of the PARiHS framework: Evidence, Context and Facilitation. This second component of the study is a systematic analysis of the enablers and barriers encountered by nurses as they implement the AMCVR guideline. Results The first component of the study generated four themes, which together have provided a rich portrait of the realities for nurses as they implemented the guideline. The four themes are self-managing client, everyday nursing practice, developing new relationships in the health team, and impact on health care delivery. The template analysis revealed that there were several enablers and barriers to guideline implementation in relation to Evidence and Context and that Facilitation was not occurring in a planned way. Conclusion Successful guideline implementation demands multidisciplinary, transformational practice development to create an effective workplace culture. Practice development is a powerful approach well suited to supporting primary health care nurses to maximise their practice-based knowledge and skills, and for them to contribute to the development of systems that will meet the information and communication requirements of successful guideline implementation. The imperative to improve cardiovascular health overall and specifically to address Mäori health inequity mandates sustained effort and mobilisation of resources to ensure successful implementation of the AMCVR guideline.

Problem: With an increasing aging Canadian population with chronic diseases such as arthritis, there is an urgent need for health professionals to promote evidence-based arthritis self-management support to their patients. Objective: The overall objective of this thesis was to determine the feasibility of using Facebook as a dissemination strategy for an online evidence-based arthritis self-management program, People Getting a Grip on Arthritis (PGrip), by arthritis health professionals with their patients. Methods: To identify the current evidence and knowledge gaps in regards to the use of innovative dissemination strategies for clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and social media use for chronic disease self-management among health professionals, two systematic reviews of the literature were conducted. The first systematic review identified research on health professionals’ perceived usability and practice behaviour change of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the dissemination of CPGs. The second identified research on the perceived usability of social media by health professionals to facilitate chronic disease self-management with their patients. To engage potential knowledge users in the research process, an advisory committee consisting of six arthritis health professional users (two registered nurses, two physiotherapists, and two occupational therapists) was convened to identify barriers and facilitators of using and accessing Facebook as a dissemination strategy for PGrip. The advisory committee was also convened to identify how the PGrip Facebook group page could be tailored to improve usability among arthritis health professionals. A feasibility study of 78 arthritis health professionals was then conducted to determine the feasibility of using Facebook as a dissemination strategy for PGrip among arthritis health professionals to their patients. To guide future research, a protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was developed that will compare Facebook with an educational website and email to determine which strategy will demonstrate greater perceived usefulness among arthritis health professionals to disseminate the PGrip program with their patients. Results: The findings of the first systematic review revealed that health professionals’ perceived usability and practice behaviour change varies by type of ICT and the heterogeneity and paucity of properly conducted studies did not allow for a clear comparison between studies. The second systematic review revealed that health professionals perceived discussion forums and collaborative projects to be useful social media platforms to facilitate chronic disease self-management with patients. The feasibility study suggested that a Facebook group page can be used as a dissemination strategy for the PGrip program by arthritis health professionals. The Facebook group page was perceived to be usable with patients after two weeks and three months in regards its ease of use and high output quality. Conclusion: The overall research of this thesis provides advanced knowledge on how a Facebook group page as a dissemination strategy for an evidence-based self-management program for patients is perceived by arthritis health professionals. Facebook may provide arthritis health professionals with an additional option of how to best share evidence-based information to allow their patients to successfully self-manage their arthritis. A future pilot RCT is needed to determine whether Facebook is superior to other ICT intervention in regards its perceived usefulness among arthritis health professionals to disseminate the PGrip program with their patients.

The objective of the thesis was to evaluate the quality of diabetes care in the Canadian Forces by determining the extent to which physicians adhere to recommendations outlined in the 2008 Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) clinical practice guidelines. In addition, the effect of patient age, sex, rank and size of base on quality of care was assessed and the accuracy of a diagnosis of diabetes in an extract of the electronic medical record (EMR) was evaluated. Fourteen bases within the Canadian Forces were selected for investigation, representing roughly half of the Canadian Forces population. Cases of diabetes were ascertained based on laboratory criteria following a chart review. Twenty-one CDA guideline recommendations were considered. The Canadian Forces demonstrated greater than 75% adherence with each of 9 recommendations, 50-75% adherence with each of 7 recommendations and less than 50% adherence with each of 5 recommendations. The overall adherence with all applicable recommendations per patient was 60.3% (SE 0.66). Age, sex, rank and size of base were not important factors influencing guideline adherence. The sensitivity of a diabetes diagnosis in an extract of the EMR was 84.5%, the specificity was 99.8%, the positive predictive value was 85.1% and the negative predictive value was 99.8%. This is similar to the performance of provincial and national diabetes registries. The quality of diabetes care in the Canadian Forces compared favourably with that of the civilian population within Canada and internationally. The creation of a diabetes registry is expected to lead to further improvements in diabetes care.

Depression is common and disproportionately affects those with chronic medical comorbidity, such as diabetes mellitus (DM). Only a limited amount of information is available concerning the quality of guideline-concordant treatment of depression and its influence on glycemic control among those with DM. This is the first study to address these issues in a veteran population with DM. This is a retrospective cohort study (1997-2005) of veterans with and without DM from the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis. Veterans with and without DM and a new episode of depression were identified. Administrative, clinical, and pharmacy data were linked to assess initiation of treatment, follow-up care, antidepressant dosage and duration, and change in antidepressant agent based on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinical practice guidelines for depression. HbA1c levels were assessed following initiation of antidepressant therapy. Treatment of depression was not consistent with guideline recommendations. Only 60% of subjects received treatment within 30-days of the depression diagnosis. Veterans with DM were more likely to have received treatment within the first two weeks than veterans without DM. Few subjects received appropriate follow-up care for depression (<40%) or an adequate duration of antidepressant therapy (<9%), although most (88%) received a dosage consistent with guideline recommendations when treatment was provided. Most subjects (>75%) were treated with a serotonigenic agent and only 23% experienced a change in therapy during the treatment period, almost 84% of which received an adequate trial of therapy prior to the change or augmentation in agent. Presence of DM was associated with significantly increased odds for receipt of guideline-concordant care for depression in most multivariate analyses. Receipt of guideline-concordant care for depression was not a significant predictor of glycemic control but was associated with a clinically meaningful reduction of 0.5% in HbA1c levels. This research demonstrates that under-treatment of depression is common and may influence at least one medical outcome. Findings also support that the relationship between depression and DM is complex and that further research is necessary to help align current practice with evidence-based practices in the VHA.

Purpose To understand the factors that influence nursing students’ use of evidence-based pain management guidelines in their clinical placements. Methods/Design Guided by educational and knowledge translation theory, multiple approaches were used: 1. A scoping review of the literature to identify and describe educational strategies to promote evidence-based practice (EBP) by nursing students in the clinical setting, along with associated barriers and facilitators from the literature. 2. A process to develop indicators of the use of pain guidelines in clinical practice. 3. A descriptive case study to determine the gap between evidence-based guideline recommendations and actual practice and to understand the clinical and educational contextual factors that influence nursing students’ use of pain management practice guidelines. Findings The scoping review identified 37 papers in total, 14 descriptive and 23 evaluation studies. Commonly identified barriers were lack of EBP knowledge and skills and lack of support in the clinical setting. EBP projects were the most frequently evaluated educational interventions, alone, or in combination with workshops or journal clubs. During the indicator development process, eleven guidelines were reviewed for quality, resulting in three quality guidelines. From these three guidelines, 12 recommendations were extracted. Quality indicators were then identified by a consensus process, resulting in 24 discrete indicators for the chart audit. For the descriptive case study, fifty-four charts were audited, and interviews were conducted with nine students, seven nurses, one professor, and one clinical instructor. Multiple documents were reviewed, and a site visit was conducted. There are gaps between pain guideline recommendations and practice in the clinical setting. Examples of barriers include the perception that guidelines are not applicable for the clinical setting, lack of knowledge regarding guidelines and an emphasis on task completion in the clinical setting. Facilitators included access to resources, curriculum changes, and the integration of guidelines in policies and procedures. These findings can inform the development, implementation and evaluation of evidence based educational strategies that take into account the multiple actors that impact nursing students’ experience, namely, in-class professors, clinical instructors, and staff nurses. Future education and research approaches should be rooted in knowledge translation and education theory.

Medical-surgical nurses at the project site demonstrated a knowledge deficit regarding the care of adult patients with a tracheostomy. Such knowledge deficits could expose patients to higher risks for infection, bedsores, prolonged hospital stays, increased costs, increased caregiver burden, and death. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational program to improve nurses'€™ knowledge and confidence in the provision of evidence-based tracheostomy care to answer the question if the content of an evidence-based educational program developed to improve nurses'€™ knowledge and confidence in managing adult patients with tracheostomy on a medical-surgical floor would meet the expectations of a panel of content experts. Bandura'€™s self-efficacy and social learning theories provided theoretical guidance for the project. Five local nurse practitioners served as content experts and made recommendations about how the program could be improved, as well as suggestions relating to the wording of and the time allowed for the simulation aspect of the program. Content experts used a 5-point Likert-scale survey to evaluate the education at the completion of the program. Results showed that all reviewers strongly agreed that the content of the program was relevant, was based on the best available evidence, and was well organized and easy to follow. This project may promote positive change on the medical-surgical floor by improving providers'€™ knowledge, skills, and confidence in the provision of care based on the best available evidence, which may lead to improvements in the quality of care provided to tracheostomized patients.