Overview of Practice Improvement Projects

Are you ready to present your research?

The Research Ready Certification Program (RRCP) is designed to help GCU Faculty and Staff become more confident in their research skills. The Research Ready Program is comprised of a series of online training programs that cover research basics such as design, methodologies, data analysis, and ways to disseminate your results. The following set of modules focus specifically on research within the Health Sciences disciplines.

At the conclusion of this module, participants will be able to:

• Identify the purpose of practice improvement projects.
• Demonstrate understanding of utility for projects in practice.
• Recognize overarching practice improvement characteristics.
• Match practice improvement and original research to their respective roles in scholarship.
• Identify industries where practice improvement is used.

Broad overview of Practice Improvement Projects- Practice improvement is essential to the advancement of professional practice in healthcare, though it is also very important in supporting continued relevance of practical approaches in education, business, and industry. Practice improvement in any field begins with evidence. Sophistication and efficiency of research has birthed a wealth of information available in a multitude of formats. Communication of research findings has also become more efficient in recent years as smart devices and social media offer an ever-ready vehicle for dissemination. New challenges arise from the wealth of information as health care providers, nurses, educators, and experts of various fields reconcile how to apply the knowledge. To further this challenge, society as a whole has become more informed, but they may not always critically appraise the source.

Background- Practice improvement, which has been around since the beginning of humankind, may not always have been purposeful. The essence of practice improvement is to use what is known to support continued progression of processes and methods as evidenced by better outcomes. 

Purpose- The purpose of any practice improvement project is to translate findings from research and best-practice investigations into the actual practice setting. A practice setting may be any venue in which professionals carry out the activities of their profession. 

Utility- Subjectivity could certainly be applied to utility as the value and usefulness of information varies widely depending on the professional atmosphere, the need, and the individual’s using knowledge. As a means of simplification, one might begin the quest to define utility by reflecting on the following questions:

What is research without dissemination?

What is dissemination without audience application?

Researchers and scholars have a vested interest in the utility of their work. There is an obligation to disseminate. Professionals have an obligation to translate what they learn from others into practice. Utility is the ultimate end-result and cannot be fully controlled, which is why accuracy and effectiveness of dissemination is so important. It is also why considering the ability of the audience to critically appraise and translate the results is imperative. Researchers and scholars are unable to ensure that the audience will receive the information as it was intended, though mindfulness of the audience attributes, characteristics, and potential goals could improve intended receipt and utility. In practice improvement, the initiative champion may have more control over application than the sources of the information origin (original researchers). 

Role in scholarship- Practice improvement projects are not necessarily restricted to their respective sites. While their scope may be smaller and less generalizable than original research, the dissemination of findings is still an option. Project champions must take care in their dissemination of practice improvement findings and ensure they are not making reference to quality improvement as research. Dissemination should not be avoided for fear of misrepresentation. Thus, it is essential to the furtherance of practice that there is a proficiency in appropriate sharing of applied best-practice findings. 

Informing best practice – Both original research and direct practice improvement project findings play a key role in informing practice. When recognized in concert, their influence can be powerful and effective as change-agents for innovation and quality improvement on academic, local, and industry levels. 

Summary of Practice Improvement Characteristics- 

Non-generalizable, yet findings may be disseminated for replication in other care settings 

Focuses on translating what is known from research into the practice setting

Practical and evidence-based

Must have an intervention and measurable outcome

Outcome must be directly related to practice or client-specific outcomes

For example, nurse retention is important in the industry, but true practice improvement would link retention back to practice or patient outcomes. 

Suggested readings

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2001). Translating research into practice (TRIP II). Retrieved from http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/translating/tripfac/trip2fac.pdf 

Grol, R., & Grimshaw, J. (2003). From best evidence to best practice: effective implementation of change in patients’ care. Lancet-London-, (9391), 1225. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN138474161&site=eds-live&scope=site

Nicholas, D., & Rowlands, I. (2011). Social media use in the research workflow. Information Services & Use, 31(1/2), 61–83. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3233/ISU-2011-0623

Reference List

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2001). Translating research into practice (TRIP II). Retrieved from http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/translating/tripfac/trip2fac.pdf 

Parry, G. J. (2014). A Brief History of Quality Improvement. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY PRACTICE, (3), 196. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? 

Zaccagnini, M. & White, K. (2017). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing. Burlington, MA :Jones and Bartlett