Grant: Fellowship - Prize: Knowledge Translation Supplement

Changing clinical practice by increasing physicians' use of research (i.e., increasing knowledge translation, KT) is one way to improve patient and system outcomes. However, we know little about how to accomplish this. Experts agree that interventions based on appropriate theory work the best. Several individual-level factors have been identified as important to translating research evidence into physician practice. Recently, context (the workplace setting) has also been identified as important to KT. The goal of this project is to develop and pilot-test an intervention to increase emergency room physicians' use of research evidence on computed tomography (CT) scans in minor head injuries (i.e., to decrease their use of CT scans for these injuries). The intervention will consider the joint role of both individual and contextual factors. The project will occur in two phases. In Phase 1, I will develop the intervention. First, as part of the CIHR-funded study KT Canada, I will establish international agreement among KT researchers on what are the core contextual factors that are relevant to KT. Second, I will analyze data collected for the CIHR-funded study Canada Prime PLUS, along side outcome data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies (ICES), to explore the relationships between demographics, individual factors, contextual factors, and physicians' use of CT scans in minor head injuries. I will use these findings to develop a tailored intervention to reduce physicians' use of CT scans to assess minor head injuries in adults. In Phase 2, the intervention will be pilot tested in two organizations, and a process evaluation conducted. The pilot-test will provide critical information needed to plan a full KT intervention study. This project will contribute to our understanding of the joint role of individual and contextual factors on physicians' use of research evidence to provide care, an important step in improving patient and system outcomes.