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Ramaswamy R, Bogdewic S, Williams CR, Deganus S, Bonzi GA, Boakye J, Koranteng E, Mensah R, Amanor A, Bryce F, Owen MD. Implementation matters: assessing the effectiveness and sustainment of an obstetric triage program at a high-volume facility in Ghana. Implement Sci Commun 2023; 4:138. [PMID: 37968768 PMCID: PMC10647175 DOI: 10.1186/s43058-023-00527-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal mortality remains stubbornly high in Ghana. Current national efforts are focused on improving the quality of care offered in health facilities. Obstetric triage is one intervention that has been proposed to improve the timeliness and appropriateness of care, two key elements of quality. In this study, we describe and evaluate a theory-based implementation approach to introduce obstetric triage into Tema General Hospital, a high-volume maternity hospital in Greater Accra, that blends concepts from implementation science and quality improvement. This implementation project was a first attempt to scale this intervention into a new facility, following initial development in the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (formerly Ridge Hospital) in Accra. METHODS This was a retrospective mixed-methods evaluation of two stages of implementation: active implementation and sustainment. We triangulated monitoring data captured during active implementation with clinical outcome data (timeliness of first assessment, accuracy of diagnosis, and appropriateness of care plan) from direct observation or patient obstetric triage assessment forms at baseline, at the completion of the active implementation stage, and following a 12-month "washout" period with no contact between hospital staff and the purveyor organization. Finally, we assessed embeddedness of the new triage procedures using the NoMad, a quantitative assessment of constructs from normalization process theory (NPT). RESULTS Patient waiting time decreased substantially during the study. At baseline, the median arrival-to-assessment waiting time was 70.5 min (IQR: 30.0-443.0 min). Waiting time decreased to 6.0 min (IQR: 3.0-15.0 min) following active implementation and to 5.0 min (IQR: 2.0-10.0 min) during the sustainment period. Accuracy of diagnosis was high at the end of active implementation (75.7% correct) and improved during the sustainment period (to 77.9%). The appropriateness of care plans also improved during the sustainment period (from 66.0 to 78.9%). Per NoMad data, hospital staff generally perceive obstetric triage to be well integrated into the facility. CONCLUSIONS This theory-based implementation approach proved to be successful in introducing a novel obstetric triage concept to a busy high-volume hospital, despite resource constraints and a short implementation window. Results proved long-lasting, suggesting this approach has high potential for engendering sustainability in other facilities as well. Our approach will be useful to other initiatives that aim to utilize program data to create and test implementation theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit Ramaswamy
- James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Stephanie Bogdewic
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Caitllin R Williams
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sylvia Deganus
- Tema General Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Tema, Ghana
| | | | - Joana Boakye
- Tema General Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Tema, Ghana
| | | | | | - Alice Amanor
- Tema General Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Tema, Ghana
| | | | - Medge D Owen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
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Proctor EK, Bunger AC, Lengnick-Hall R, Gerke DR, Martin JK, Phillips RJ, Swanson JC. Ten years of implementation outcomes research: a scoping review. Implement Sci 2023; 18:31. [PMID: 37491242 PMCID: PMC10367273 DOI: 10.1186/s13012-023-01286-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Proctor and colleagues' 2011 paper proposed a taxonomy of eight implementation outcomes and challenged the field to address a research agenda focused on conceptualization, measurement, and theory building. Ten years later, this paper maps the field's progress in implementation outcomes research. This scoping review describes how each implementation outcome has been studied, research designs and methods used, and the contexts and settings represented in the current literature. We also describe the role of implementation outcomes in relation to implementation strategies and other outcomes. METHODS Arksey and O'Malley's framework for conducting scoping reviews guided our methods. Using forward citation tracing, we identified all literature citing the 2011 paper. We conducted our search in the Web of Science (WOS) database and added citation alerts sent to the first author from the publisher for a 6-month period coinciding with the WOS citation search. This produced 1346 titles and abstracts. Initial abstract screening yielded 480 manuscripts, and full-text review yielded 400 manuscripts that met inclusion criteria (empirical assessment of at least one implementation outcome). RESULTS Slightly more than half (52.1%) of included manuscripts examined acceptability. Fidelity (39.3%), feasibility (38.6%), adoption (26.5%), and appropriateness (21.8%) were also commonly examined. Penetration (16.0%), sustainability (15.8%), and cost (7.8%) were less frequently examined. Thirty-two manuscripts examined implementation outcomes not included in the original taxonomy. Most studies took place in healthcare (45.8%) or behavioral health (22.5%) organizations. Two-thirds used observational designs. We found little evidence of progress in testing the relationships between implementation strategies and implementation outcomes, leaving us ill-prepared to know how to achieve implementation success. Moreover, few studies tested the impact of implementation outcomes on other important outcome types, such as service systems and improved individual or population health. CONCLUSIONS Our review presents a comprehensive snapshot of the research questions being addressed by existing implementation outcomes literature and reveals the need for rigorous, analytic research and tests of strategies for attaining implementation outcomes in the next 10 years of outcomes research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enola K Proctor
- The Brown School, Shanti Khinduka Distinguished Professor Emerita, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA.
| | - Alicia C Bunger
- College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Donald R Gerke
- Department of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA
| | - Jared K Martin
- College of Education & Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Rebecca J Phillips
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR, USA
| | - Julia C Swanson
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Bartels SM, Haider S, Williams CR, Mazumder Y, Ibisomi L, Alonge O, Theobald S, Bärnighausen T, Escallon JV, Vahedi M, Ramaswamy R, Sarker M. Diversifying Implementation Science: A Global Perspective. GLOBAL HEALTH: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022; 10:GHSP-D-21-00757. [PMID: 36041849 PMCID: PMC9426981 DOI: 10.9745/ghsp-d-21-00757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We present a joint global perspective about the urgent need to diversify the loci of knowledge creation and sharing in global implementation science. We underscore the imperative of addressing implementation research questions relevant to practitioners, policy makers, and researchers from low- and middle-income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia M Bartels
- Department of Health Behavior, The University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Shabab Haider
- James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Caitlin R Williams
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Yameen Mazumder
- James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Latifat Ibisomi
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Olakunle Alonge
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sally Theobald
- Social Science and International Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Till Bärnighausen
- Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | - Rohit Ramaswamy
- James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
| | - Malabika Sarker
- James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
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Bogdewic S, Ramaswamy R, Goodman DM, Srofenyoh EK, Ucer S, Owen MD. The cost-effectiveness of a program to reduce intrapartum and neonatal mortality in a referral hospital in Ghana. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242170. [PMID: 33186395 PMCID: PMC7665827 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a program intended to reduce intrapartum and neonatal mortality in Accra, Ghana. DESIGN Quasi-experimental, time-sequence intervention, retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis. METHODS A program integrating leadership development, clinical skills and quality improvement training was piloted at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital from 2013 to 2016. The number of intrapartum and neonatal deaths prevented were estimated using the hospital's 2012 stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates as a steady-state assumption. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was calculated as cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. In order to test the assumptions included in this analysis, it was subjected to probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), which measures the cost per disability-adjusted life-year averted by the intervention compared to status quo. RESULTS From 2012 to 2016, there were 45,495 births at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, of whom 5,734 were admitted to the newborn intensive care unit. The budget for the systems strengthening program was US $1,716,976. Based on program estimates, 307 (±82) neonatal deaths and 84 (±35) stillbirths were prevented, amounting to 12,342 DALYs averted. The systems strengthening intervention was found to be highly cost effective with an ICER of US $139 (±$44), an amount significantly lower than the established threshold of cost-effectiveness of the per capita gross domestic product, which averaged US $1,649 between 2012-2016. The results were found to be sensitive to the following parameters: DALYs averted, number of neonatal deaths, and number of stillbirths. CONCLUSION An integrated approach to system strengthening in referral hospitals has the potential to reduce neonatal and intrapartum mortality in low resource settings and is likely to be cost-effective. Sustained change can be achieved by building organizational capacity through leadership and clinical training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Bogdewic
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Rohit Ramaswamy
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - David M. Goodman
- Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, Orlando, Florida, United States of America
| | | | - Sebnem Ucer
- Kybele Inc, Lewisville, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Medge D. Owen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
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