Evaluation of a system-level organizational approach to person-centered care education and implementation toolkit.

Abstract

67 Background: Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) is an Ontario government agency which drives quality and improvement in the delivery of care and the patient experience for the Ontario cancer system. Person-Centred Care (PCC) has been identified as a goal from the recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report and as a corporate strategic priority at CCO. As an initial step in a province-wide PCC strategy, CCO is developing and internally disseminating a patient engagement toolkit and eLearning module with expansion to regional cancer programs. Methods: The PCC eLearning module defines the care approach and explains the corporate goals and objectives of practicing PCC at CCO. Pre- and post-evaluation metrics are embedded to measure module impact on a rating scale with respect to: (1) understanding of PCC; (2) willingness to include the patient voice in CCO work; and (3) understanding of the role of patients who serve as advisors at CCO. The Patient Engagement Toolkit was developed as a step-by-step guide on why and how to engage Patients and Family Advisors (PFAs) in different organizational contexts. To test effectiveness and impact, we piloted the toolkit in 6 interactive sessions across 7 departments with 184 CCO employees over 2 months (Clinical Program and Quality Initiatives, Regional Program, Communication, Finance/Procurement/Facilities, HR, Business Analyst/Project Management Office). We are taking a comprehensive mixed methods evaluation approach with online surveys and key informant interviews to identify uptake and barriers. Results: Preliminary findings suggest considerable increase in the understanding of PCC and the role of PFAs at CCO, with 138 current instances of patient engagement in 1 quarter. After an introduction to the toolkit, many employees (86.7%) understood the value of engaging PFAs and most (63.7%) felt willing to start. Conclusions: Initial program evaluation demonstrates an increase in the understanding and implementation of direct (e.g., joining committees/working groups) and indirect PFA engagement (e.g., speaking at events/in focus groups) across CCO departments. Further evaluation of the toolkit at a provincial level is needed.