Grant: Operating Grant

Healthcare for children is not immune to the significant challenges of ensuring that clinical research is informed by the best available research evidence. Clinical practice guidelines and clinical pathways are strategies used within healthcare to ensure clinical practice is based on the best available research, however, little is known about the factors that affect how these strategies are used in child healthcare settings. Understanding the unique patterns and nuances of child healthcare settings is critical to ensuring that the best available health research is consistently implemented in child healthcare practice. This innovative study will explore the mechanisms and factors that shape the use of clinical practice guidelines and clinical pathways that have been implemented in child health care settings, in Canada. By employing ground breaking techniques, data from five previously funded and completed studies will be combined and reanalyzed to develop this needed nursing science. Without the added costs of new data collection, time consumption and significant human resources, this project will be accomplished in the most effective way. This project has the potential to yield large dividends in terms of improved child health outcomes and more efficient care utilization. The resulting knowledge will be important to senior health administrators and decision makers, health care professionals and health service researchers to ensure that child health care is based on the best available research, knowledge and science.