Protocol For Quasi-experimental Study Research Articles

Development of Intervention Package among Main Care-givers of Pregnant Women and Its Effect on Continuum of Care: Study Protocol for Quasi-experimental Study in Rural Areas of Yangon Region, Myanmar

Development of Intervention Package among Main Care-givers of Pregnant Women and Its Effect on Continuum of Care: Study Protocol for Quasi-experimental Study in Rural Areas of Yangon Region, Myanmar

Effects of Graded Exercises Integrated with Education on Physical Fitness, Exercise SelfEfficacy, and Activity Levels in People with Spinal Cord Injury: A Quasi-Experimental Study Protocol.

Study Design A quasi-experimental single-blinded study.Purpose To investigate the effects of ‘graded exercise integrated with education’ on physical fitness, exercise self-efficacy (ESE), and physical activity (PA) levels among subacute and chronic wheelchair-dependent paraplegia patients.Overview of Literature Most of the chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients had low physical fitness due to a sedentary lifestyle and lack of ESE after discharge from a rehabilitation program. Education may encourage them to engage with exercise to regain and maintain their physical fitness. However, there is a lack of research to support the effects of exercise integrated with education after an SCI.Methods A total of 44 participants will be assigned to either the experimental group (graded exercise integrated with education) or active control (conventional physical therapy). The experimental group will receive graded strength and aerobic exercise training according to their progression criteria. They will attend an education program during and after the rehabilitation program. The control group will only receive conventional physical therapy during their in-rehabilitation program. This study will be conducted during a period of 16 weeks, consisting of 8 weeks of in-rehabilitation and 8 weeks post-rehabilitation. Statistical analysis will be performed using the IBM SPSS ver. 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) at a significance level of p≤0.05.Results The primary outcome measures will be upper-limb isokinetic strength, isometric grip strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness. The secondary outcomes will be ESE and PA levels.Conclusions An intervention that combines exercise training and education may be warranted to enhance the physical fitness, ESE, and PA levels in SCI patients. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03420170).

Evaluating the impact of an intervention to increase uptake of modern contraceptives among adolescent girls (15–19 years) in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania: the Adolescents 360 quasi-experimental study protocol

IntroductionNigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania have some of the highest teenage pregnancy rates and lowest rates of modern contraceptive use among adolescents. The transdisciplinary Adolescents 360 (A360) initiative being rolled out...

Effectiveness of a multicomponent school based intervention to reduce bullying among adolescents in Chandigarh, North India: A quasi-experimental study protocol.

BackgroundBullying perpetration and victimization is associated with significant academic, psychosocial and health related problems among adolescents. There is a need to develop effective interventions to prevent bullying among adolescents, especially in low and middle income countries. This paper presents the study protocol to develop, and evaluate the effect of multi-component school based prevention program for bullying in India.DesignQuasi-experimental study.MethodsThe study will be conducted among 846 students of grade 7th and 8th in the intervention and control schools in Chandigarh, Union Territory, North India. A government and a private school will be selected purposively in each of the intervention and control arm. The intervention is based on socio-ecological model, and will be administered at individual, relationship (parents and teachers) and school level. The primary study outcome will be the proportion of students experiencing any kind of bullying (bullying, victimization, or both), in each study arm. The effectiveness of the intervention will be measured by performing difference in difference analysis and generalized estimating equations.Expected impact for public healthBullying is an aggressive behaviour with significant morbidities, including psychological or physical trauma, affecting individuals not only in their adolescence, but also later in their adulthood. This quasi-experimental study is expected to provide evidence on whether multi-component bullying prevention intervention program, can reduce the burden of bullying perpetration and victimization among school adolescents in India. The results of the study will add in the exiting literature on bullying intervention program, especially, from the low middle-income countries, as there are limited studies available on this topic in these countries.Significance for public healthBullying is one of the important but neglected health concern among adolescents especially in low and middle income countries. The results of this study might guide the policy makers and public health professionals, not only in India but in other low and middle income countries, in formulating policy or guidelines for universal implementation of bullying prevention program in the schools with an aim to improve the overall health of the adolescents, and ultimately contribute in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, three and four, of ensuring good health and well-being, and providing quality education, respectively.

Community based intervention to prevent domestic violence against women in the reproductive age in Northwestern Ethiopia: a protocol for quasi-experimental study

BackgroundViolence against women is a well understood devastating global pandemic, and human right violation. One in three women experienced intimate partner violence worldwide. In Ethiopia, the level of domestic violence against women is one of the highest in the world. However, Ethiopia is signatory for various conventions and incorporated in legal frameworks. Nevertheless, effective implementation of the existing policy documents, and engaging different stakeholders is very limited. Therefore, we aimed to pilot feasibility of implementing available research evidence and policy documents at community level to prevent domestic violence against women in Awi zone, northwestern Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based quasi-experimental study design will be employed using mixed method. Multistage stratified systematic sampling and purposive sampling will be used to recruit quantitative and qualitative study participants, respectively. A total of 1,269 women will be participated in the intervention, active comparator and control groups. Pre and post-test quantitative data will be collected using face-to-face interview. Qualitative data will be collected through in-depth, key informant interview and focus group discussions. Intervention: advocacy meeting will be held to persuade local politicians and sustain the implementation of community based intervention to prevent domestic violence against women. Community representatives will be trained to enhance peer education to promote community awareness and engage stakeholders to transform the traditional gender norm within local context. Awareness creation and husband involvement will be made through integrating the intervention with community health extension program. Only husband involvement will not be promoted in the active comparator to test the role of husband involvement on the domestic violence prevention activities. Intervention progress will be monitored regularly. Gathered data will be entered in Epidata and exported to SPSS (23.0) software for analysis. Descriptive statistics, logistic regressions, intention to treat analysis and difference in differences will be computed. Qualitative data will be transcribed, color coded, thematically analyzed and arranged using Nvivo.DiscussionThis interventional study is aimed to design, pilot and translate proven research evidence, agreed conventions and country policy document to real setting implementation. We are expecting to initiate implementation of culturally acceptable intervention through engaging stakeholders. Policy makers, planners and any concerned bodies will be benefited.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03265626

\u201cTeamwork in hospitals\u201d: a quasi-experimental study protocol applying a human factors approach

BackgroundEffective teamwork and sufficient communication are critical components essential to patient safety in today’s specialized and complex healthcare services. Team training is important for an improved efficiency in inter-professional teamwork within hospitals, however the scientific rigor of studies must be strengthen and more research is required to compare studies across samples, settings and countries. The aims of the study are to translate and validate teamwork questionnaires and investigate healthcare personnel’s perception of teamwork in hospitals (Part 1). Further to explore the impact of an inter-professional teamwork intervention in a surgical ward on structure, process and outcome (Part 2).MethodsTo address the aims, a descriptive, and explorative design (Part 1), and a quasi-experimental interventional design will be applied (Part 2). The study will be carried out in five different hospitals (A-E) in three hospital trusts in Norway. Frontline healthcare personnel in Hospitals A and B, from both acute and non-acute departments, will be invited to respond to three Norwegian translated teamwork questionnaires (Part 1). An inter-professional teamwork intervention in line with the TeamSTEPPS recommend Model of Change will be implemented in a surgical ward at Hospital C. All physicians, registered nurses and assistant nurses in the intervention ward and two control wards (Hospitals D and E) will be invited to to survey their perception of teamwork, team decision making, safety culture and attitude towards teamwork before intervention and after six and 12 months. Adult patients admitted to the intervention surgical unit will be invited to survey their perception of quality of care during their hospital stay before intervention and after six and 12 month. Moreover, anonymous patient registry data from local registers and data from patients’ medical records will be collected (Part 2).DiscussionThis study will help to understand the impact of an inter-professional teamwork intervention in a surgical ward and contribute to promote healthcare personnel’s team competences with an opportunity to achieve changes in work processes and patient safety.Trial registrationTrial registration number (TRN) is ISRCTN13997367. The study was registered retrospectively with registration date 30.05.2017.

Implementation of integration strategies between primary care units and a regional general hospital in Brazil to update and connect health care professionals: a quasi-experimental study protocol.

BackgroundBetter communication among field health care teams and points of care, together with investments focused on improving teamwork, individual management, and clinical skills, are strategies for achieving better outcomes in patient-oriented care. This research aims to implement and evaluate interventions focused on improving communication and knowledge among health teams based on points of care in a regional public health outreach network, assessing the following hypotheses: 1) A better-working communication process between hospitals and primary health care providers can improve the sharing of information on patients as well as patients’ outcomes. 2) A skill-upgrading education tool offered to health providers at their work sites can improve patients’ care and outcomes.Methods/DesignA quasi-experimental study protocol with a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) was developed to evaluate communication tools for health care professionals based in primary care units and in a general hospital in the southern region of São Paulo City, Brazil. The usefulness and implementation processes of the integration strategies will be evaluated, considering: 1) An Internet-based communication platform that facilitates continuity and integrality of care to patients, and 2) A tailored updating distance-learning course on ambulatory care sensitive conditions for clinical skills improvements.The observational study will evaluate a non-randomized cohort of adult patients, with historical controls. Hospitalized patients diagnosed with an ambulatory care sensitive condition will be selected and followed for 1 year after hospital discharge. Data will be collected using validated questionnaires and from patients’ medical records. Health care professionals will be evaluated related to their use of education and communication tools and their demographic and psychological profiles. The primary outcome measured will be the patients’ 30-day hospital readmission rates. A sample size of 560 patients was calculated to fit a valid logistic model. In addition, qualitative approaches will be used to identify subjective perceptions of providers about the implementation process and of patients about health system use.DiscussionThis research project will gather relevant information about implementation processes for education and communication tools and their impact on human resources training, rates of readmission, and patient-related outcomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1626-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Implementation of a Care Pathway for Primary Palliative Care in 5 research clusters in Belgium: quasi-experimental study protocol and innovations in data collection (pro-SPINOZA)

BackgroundStarting with early identification of palliative care patients by general practitioners (GPs), the Care Pathway for Primary Palliative Care (CPPPC) is believed to help primary health care workers to deliver patient- and family-centered care in the last year of life. The care pathway has been pilot-tested, and will now be implemented in 5 Belgian regions: 2 Dutch-speaking regions, 2 French-speaking regions and the bilingual capital region of Brussels. The overall aim of the CPPPC is to provide better quality of primary palliative care, and in the end to reduce the hospital death rate.The aim of this article is to describe the quantitative design and innovative data collection strategy used in the evaluation of this complex intervention.Methods/DesignA quasi-experimental stepped wedge cluster design is set up with the 5 regions being 5 non-randomized clusters. The primary outcome is reduced hospital death rate per GPs’ patient population. Secondary outcomes are increased death at home and health care consumption patterns suggesting high quality palliative care.Per research cluster, GPs will be recruited via convenience sampling. These GPs -volunteering to be involved will recruit people with reduced life expectancy and their informal care givers. Health care consumption data in the last year of life, available for all deceased people having lived in the research clusters in the study period, will be used for comparison between patient populations of participating GPs and patient populations of non-participating GPs. Description of baseline characteristics of participating GPs and patients and monitoring of the level of involvement by GPs, patients and informal care givers will happen through regular, privacy-secured web-surveys.Web-survey data and health consumption data are linked in a secure way, respecting Belgian privacy laws.DiscussionTo evaluate this complex intervention, a quasi-experimental stepped wedge cluster design has been set up. Context characteristics and involvement level of participants are important parameters in evaluating complex interventions. It is possible to securely link survey data with health consumption data. By appealing to IT solutions we hope to be able to partly reduce respondent burden, a known problem in palliative care research.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02266069.

Evaluating the effectiveness of care integration strategies in different healthcare systems in Latin America: the EQUITY-LA II quasi-experimental study protocol.

IntroductionAlthough fragmentation in the provision of healthcare is considered an important obstacle to effective care, there is scant evidence on best practices in care coordination in Latin America. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory shared care strategy in improving coordination across care levels and related care quality, in health services networks in six different healthcare systems of Latin America.Methods and analysisA controlled before and after quasi-experimental study taking a participatory action research approach. In each country, two comparable healthcare networks were selected—intervention and control. The study contains four phases: (1) A baseline study to establish network performance in care coordination and continuity across care levels, using (A) qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a criterion sample of health managers, professionals and users; and (B) quantitative methods: two questionnaire surveys with samples of 174 primary and secondary care physicians and 392 users with chronic conditions per network. Sample size was calculated to detect a proportion difference of 15% and 10%, before and after intervention (α=0.05; β=0.2 in a two-sided test); (2) a bottom-up participatory design and implementation of shared care strategies involving micro-level care coordination interventions to improve the adequacy of patient referral and information transfer. Strategies are selected through a participatory process by the local steering committee (local policymakers, health care network professionals, managers, users and researchers), supported by appropriate training; (3) Evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions by measuring changes in levels of care coordination and continuity 18 months after implementation, applying the same design as in the baseline study; (4) Cross-country comparative analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis study complies with international and national legal stipulations on ethics. Conditions of the study procedure were approved by each country's ethical committee. A variety of dissemination activities are implemented addressing the main stakeholders. Registration No.257 Clinical Research Register of the Santa Fe Health Department, Argentina.

Evaluating the effectiveness of care integration strategies in different healthcare systems in Latin America: the EQUITY-LA II quasi-experimental study protocol

Evaluating the effectiveness of care integration strategies in different healthcare systems in Latin America: the EQUITY-LA II quasi-experimental study protocol

An intervention to train group exercise class instructors to adopt a motivationally adaptive communication style: a quasi-experimental study protocol

Introduction: According to self-determination theory (SDT), individuals in position of authority can have a powerful impact on the motivation of the individuals they instruct via the type of communication style they use. This paper describes (a) the rationale for and development of an SDT-based motivation communication training package for group exercise instructors and (b) the design and protocol for an intervention study to evaluate the implementation of this intervention. Methods and analysis: Fifty indoor cycling class instructors will be assigned to either an intervention group (n = 25) or a control group (n = 25). Over a 10-week period, instructors in the intervention group will complete a multiphase SDT-based communication training programme. The evaluation package will comprise qualitative and quantitative assessments of the motivationally relevant features of the class environment as well as motivation and well-being variables, undertaken by both exercise class members and instructors. Baseline quantitative data collection will take place up to one month prior to the start of the intervention and be re-administered within one month following the end of the intervention period. Quantitative data will be analysed using multilevel growth modelling. Follow-up semi-structured interviews with instructors and exercise class members will be conducted four to six weeks following the end of the intervention to explore perceptions of the training programme. All interviews will be analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been granted ethical approval from Curtin University Ethics Board. The findings of the study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations. Trial Registration: ANZCTR.org.au: ACTRN12615000036516.