An Applied Test of Knowledge Translation Methods Using a Mobile Health Solution

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Mobile Health Interventions
• Knowledge Translation in Healthcare

Background:

• Healthcare providers require training to effectively utilize new digital tools.
• Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer evidence-based treatment potential.
• Knowledge translation strategies are crucial for bridging research and practice gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance provider knowledge of mobile health core competencies.
• To increase provider knowledge and clinical adoption of the Virtual Hope Box (VHB) app.
• To evaluate a structured knowledge translation approach for mHealth implementation.

Main Methods:

• Integrated knowledge translation best practices into a provider training workshop.
• Trained providers at three distinct clinical sites.
• Collected provider feedback pre-training, post-training, and at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Main Results:

• Pre-training VHB clinical use was below 22%.
• Post-training, 89% of providers intended to use the VHB.
• At 3 and 6 months, 82% of providers reported actual VHB use.

Conclusions:

• Knowledge translation methods successfully integrated a public-facing mHealth technology into provider training.
• Deliberate implementation planning is essential, considering site capacity and adoption barriers.
• Findings inform future efforts to improve clinical care quality through research-practice integration.