Grant: Operating Grant: Advancing Theoretical & Methodological Innovations in Hlth Res

The setting in which healthcare providers work is believed to be an important influence on their use of research in the delivery of care. However, to date there is not a great deal of evidence to support this claim. One reason for this is the lack of an instrument capable of measuring changeable aspects of the work setting. The Alberta Context Tool (ACT) was developed to address this gap and is currently being used with various groups of healthcare providers in different settings. In this project we will examine data that has been collected using the ACT instrument in order to assess how well it works when delivered in different ways (paper, online, interview) with different groups of healthcare providers (e.g., nurses, allied healthcare providers, healthcare aides) working in different settings (pediatric and adult hospitals, nursing home, home care settings). Having an instrument that allows us to measure and understand changeable aspects of the healthcare work setting will allow us to develop interventions to increase research use among healthcare providers and improve outcomes for patients and care providers.