The co-design of a digitally supported intervention for selecting implementation tools and actions for standards...

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Health Services Research
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Health and social care standards are crucial for quality and safety.
• Evidence-based methods are needed for selecting implementation strategies.
• A theory- and evidence-informed intervention was developed to guide strategy selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a digital intervention (SITAS) to guide researchers in selecting implementation strategies for standards.
• To use a rigorous, multi-stage, and multi-methods approach informed by established frameworks.
• To tailor support tools and actions for effective standards implementation.

Main Methods:

• The Medical Research Council Framework guided the co-design of SITAS.
• Programme theory, enabler/barrier analysis, and framework selection (CFIR) were employed.
• User feedback from workshops refined the digital tool prototype.

Main Results:

• Programme theory was developed and refined through user input.
• Fifteen enablers/barriers mapped to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) 'Inner Setting'.
• The most common strategy was 'Conduct educational meetings'; 'Physical opportunity' was key in the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW).

Conclusions:

• SITAS is a practical, user-informed intervention for selecting and tailoring implementation strategies.
• The tool utilizes core implementation science concepts for context-specific application.
• Formal piloting is required before SITAS can be scaled and disseminated.