Development of an evidence-based knowledge translation intervention to promote behavioral change in cerebral palsy

Vivian W Y Wong1,2, Stephanie M Glegg1,2,3, Olivia Scoten4

  • 1Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Insights

This study developed a knowledge translation intervention to help community pediatricians in British Columbia diagnose cerebral palsy (CP) earlier in infants and children. The goal is to improve health outcomes for children with CP through theory-informed continuing medical education workshops.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric neurology
  • Implementation science
  • Knowledge translation

Background:

  • Early diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) is crucial for timely intervention and improved outcomes in children.
  • Current diagnostic practices for low-risk infants and children may benefit from targeted improvements.
  • Community pediatricians play a key role in the initial detection and diagnosis of CP.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and describe a theory-informed knowledge translation (KT) intervention.
  • To facilitate earlier detection and diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) by community pediatricians in British Columbia (BC).
  • To improve health outcomes for children diagnosed with CP.

Main Methods:

  • Co-design of a KT intervention by a multidisciplinary team.
  • Utilized Theoretical Domains Framework, Behavior Change Wheel, and AIMD Framework.
  • Developed intervention based on CP diagnostic guidelines, identified barriers, and facilitators.

Main Results:

  • A theory-informed KT intervention was created, comprising accredited continuing medical education (CME) workshops.
  • The intervention targets community pediatricians to adopt six change objectives for earlier CP diagnosis.
  • The intervention was tailored iteratively to address barriers and local health system context.

Conclusions:

  • This novel KT intervention enhances traditional CME by incorporating implementation science frameworks.
  • It aims to change practice behaviors of community pediatricians for earlier CP diagnosis.
  • Evaluation of intervention adoption and acceptability will be reported separately.