Development and testing of an interactive evaluation tool: the Evaluating QUality and ImPlementation (EQUIP) Tool

Evaluating implementation outcomes is gaining momentum in health service delivery organizations. Teams are increasingly recognizing the importance of capturing and learning from their implementation efforts, and Implementation Scientists have published extensively on implementation outcomes. However, Quality Improvement approaches and tools are more widely recognized and routinely used in healthcare to improve processes and outcomes. This article describes the development of an interactive online tool designed to help researchers and practitioners effectively design and develop appropriate evaluation plans that support the understanding of successful implementation.

There were two main development phases. Phase 1, from January to October 2020, involved several design sessions with a small group of professionals leading implementation initiatives within the provincial health delivery system. This resulted in a testable prototype. Phase 2, from November 2020 to June 2021, focused on usability testing and interviews with a broader group of researchers and professionals leading implementation initiatives across the province.

The result is the EQUIP (Evaluating QUality and ImPlementation) Tool, an interactive online tool that integrates quality measures from the Alberta Quality Matrix for Health and implementation measures from widely used outcomes frameworks, such as the one developed by Proctor and colleagues and the RE-AIM planning and evaluation framework. The tool encourages users to explore implementation outcomes and quality dimensions from different perspectives and select questions and indicators relevant to their project.

The EQUIP tool was designed and refined in collaboration with end users to create an accessible and practical online tool. This work addresses the call for greater integration of Quality Improvement and Implementation Science by combining approaches from both fields to strengthen evaluation processes within the health system.