Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 51-11 | Page 21

Implementation tools for rehabilitation guidelines
835
KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION
implementation
diffusion
knowledge
into practice
dissemination
health benefit
Fig. 1. Components of knowledge translation. Copyright: The Finnish Medical Society Duodecim.
support (guideline summaries, algorithms, forms or
checklists), implementation support (training material,
other resources), and evaluation support (audit tools,
other measures) (7). Desirable features for GItools
have been surveyed (8).
CC Guidelines have previously included GItools,
but the development of these tools has been based
more on the resources available than on the needs of
healthcare providers or patients. An implementation
strategy for CC Guidelines was formulated in order
to make implementation activities more structured
and target-oriented. Implementation was made more
structured by recognizing up to 5 of the most important
recommendations to be implemented when there was
new evidence or a known evidence-practice gap. Based
on these implementation aims, an implementation plan
was made for each guideline. The plan included the
GItools to be developed, communication activities,
and possible educational efforts.
As rehabilitation was embedded into the guidelines,
a new 3-year project for the implementation of rehabili-
tation recommendations was launched at the beginning
of 2015. The aims of the project were to develop and
publish GItools for rehabilitation guidelines, as well as
to implement guidelines for seamless care pathways,
and thus improve the health of the population. The
current article describes the GItools, how those tools
were evaluated by healthcare professionals, and the
implementation of a seamless pathway.
METHODS
For this project, guideline topics were specifically selected to
include diseases that significantly decrease patients’ ability to
function and work (musculoskeletal system, depression, and
neurological diseases). The project was divided into 2 sections.
The first section, targeted at healthcare professionals, was com-
posed mainly of the development of GItools and arrangement
of educational seminars. The second section targeted healthcare
organizations. Thus, organizational partners were sought to plan
actual implementation activities.
GItools and educational activities
A clinician summary and a plain language summary for patients
were compiled for each CC Guideline. Optional GItools included
press releases, slide presentations, clinical algorithms, performan-
ce measures, resources for patients and caregivers (information,
self-management resources), as well as resource-planning guides.
During the project GItools were selected for each guideline based
on the implementation aims. Rehabilitation was emphasized, if
relevant for the guideline topic, and described in an implementa-
tion plan. In addition, podcasts on clinician summaries and videos
were added to the GItools repertoire. Videos consisted of short
lectures, interviews or demonstrations of rehabilitation methods.
One national and 4 regional continuous medical education
(CME) events are arranged annually in Finland. For these
events, CC Guideline working groups offered CME sessions
on guideline topics relevant to rehabilitation according to the
implementation plan. In addition, separate yearly rehabilitation
seminars were planned.
In order to facilitate shared decision-making, the content of
guideline patient summaries was revised. Literature and other
guideline organizations’ patient summaries were reviewed, and
opinions of the CC website (https://www.kaypahoito.fi/) users
J Rehabil Med 51, 2019