Structured approaches to promote patient and family engagement in treatment in acute care hospital settings: protocol for a systematic scoping review

Donna Goodridge,Erika Penz,Erin Watson,Murray Scharf,Chrysanthus Henry,Elizabeth L Harrison,Lucia New,Steve Campbell,Thomas Rotter,Meghan Mcdonald

doi:10.1186/s13643-018-0694-9

Abstract

BackgroundWhile effective engagement of patients and families in treatment is increasingly viewed as a priority for many healthcare systems, much remains to be learned about the nature and outcomes of approaches that seek to accomplish this goal in the acute care hospital setting. Wide variability in the implementation of practices designed to promote patient and family engagement in hospitals has been noted. Approaches aimed at promoting patient and family engagement in treatment share the over-arching goal of changing behaviors of patients, families, and healthcare providers and possibly administrators. Behavior change techniques (BCTs) can be a key element of patient and family engagement approaches. This scoping review will contribute to the development of an evidence base detailing that the BCTs have potential to be effective in patient and family engagement interventions. The specific objectives of this review are to (a) identify and classify approaches used in acute care hospitals to engage patient and families in treatment according to the behavior change technique taxonomy; and (b) evaluate and synthesize the outcomes for these approaches for patients and families, healthcare providers, and health administrators/funders.MethodsThis systematic scoping review will allow us to determine the extent, range, and nature of research activity related to initiatives designed to promote patient and family engagement in care. A comprehensive electronic literature search will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Studies will be included if they report on outcomes of a structured or systematic approach to the promotion of adult inpatient and family engagement in treatment in acute care settings. Studies will be selected in a two-stage screening process (title and abstract; full text) and quality will be assessed using the mixed methods assessment tool. Data extraction will include narrative descriptions of the intervention and classification of the behavior change techniques employed.DiscussionThis review aims to identify and classify the specific behavior change techniques underpinning patient and family engagement interventions used in acute care hospital settings. By identifying the “active ingredients” in these interventions, our findings will be transferable to a wide range of acute care hospital contexts and populations.

Highlights

While effective engagement of patients and families in treatment is increasingly viewed as a priority for many healthcare systems, much remains to be learned about the nature and outcomes of approaches that seek to accomplish this goal in the acute care hospital setting
The specific objectives of this review are to: a) Identify and classify approaches used in acute care hospitals to engage patient and families in treatment according to the behavior change technique taxonomy [25]; and b) Evaluate and synthesize the outcomes for these approaches for patients and families, healthcare providers, and health administrators/funders
Identifying the research question In collaboration with knowledge users from the provincial Health Quality Council and decision-makers from the Ministry of Health, the research questions for this review are (a) “Which approaches to patient and family engagement in acute care hospitals have the most potential to result in positive outcomes for: patients and families; health care providers; health systems and administrators/funders?” and (b) “Which behavior change techniques can be effectively implemented to promote effective patient and family engagement?”

Summary

Introduction

While effective engagement of patients and families in treatment is increasingly viewed as a priority for many healthcare systems, much remains to be learned about the nature and outcomes of approaches that seek to accomplish this goal in the acute care hospital setting. The specific objectives of this review are to (a) identify and classify approaches used in acute care hospitals to engage patient and families in treatment according to the behavior change technique taxonomy; and (b) evaluate and synthesize the outcomes for these approaches for patients and families, healthcare providers, and health administrators/funders. While many healthcare systems have identified effective engagement of patients and families as a top priority, much remains to be learned about the nature and outcomes of approaches that seek to accomplish this goal.

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion