Getting to uptake: do communities of practice support the implementation of evidence-based practice?

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Knowledge Translation
• Implementation Science

Background:

• Evidence-based practices (EBP) require effective knowledge translation strategies for implementation.
• Ontario's children's mental health sector mandates standardized outcome measures for treatment monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the benefits of a community of practice (CoP) for knowledge translation and implementation of a standardized outcome measure.
• To compare a CoP intervention with usual implementation supports.

Main Methods:

• Randomized assignment of practitioners to either a CoP or practice-as-usual (PaU) group.
• CoP participants engaged in 6 sessions over 12 months; PaU participants received standard supports.
• Assessed readiness for change, practice change, content knowledge, and satisfaction with implementation supports.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found between groups in readiness for change or reported practice change.
• CoP participants demonstrated significantly greater use of the outcome measure in practice.
• CoP participants reported enhanced content knowledge and higher satisfaction with implementation supports compared to the PaU group.

Conclusions:

• Communities of practice (CoP) offer a promising model for translating evidence-based practices (EBP) knowledge in children's mental health.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the impact of CoPs on practice change.
• CoPs may be a valuable strategy for supporting the adoption of standardized measures and promoting practice change.