Development, Evaluation, and User Testing of a Decision-Making Toolkit to Promote Organizations to Implement...

The Implementing Universal Lynch Syndrome Screening (IMPULSS) study explained institutional variation in universal tumor screening (UTS) with the goal of identifying ways to aid organizational decision-makers in implementing and optimizing Lynch syndrome UTS programs.

After applying the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 1.0) to analyze interviews with 66 stakeholders across 9 healthcare systems to develop a toolkit for implementation, we adapted the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) to assess toolkit potential to aid decision-making consistent with organizational values. We then conducted user testing with two experienced and four non-experienced implementers of UTS to improve the content and functionality of the toolkit and assess its acceptability and appropriateness.

Toolkit components were organized to address findings related to CFIR 1.0 constructs of evidence strength and quality, relative advantage, cost, engaging, planning, executing, and reflecting and evaluating. A home page was added to direct users to different sections based on whether they are deciding to implement UTS, planning for implementation, improving an existing UTS program, or considering a different approach to identify patients with Lynch syndrome. Upon initial evaluation, 31 of 64 IPDAS criteria were met by the original toolkit. All users rated the toolkit as acceptable and appropriate for assisting organizational decision-making and identified multiple areas for improvement. Numerous iterative changes were made to the toolkit, resulting in meeting 17 of the previously unmet IPDAS criteria.

We demonstrate the rigorous development of a toolkit guided by the CFIR and show how user testing helped improve the toolkit to ensure it is acceptable, appropriate, and meets most IPDAS criteria relevant to organizational values-based decision-making.