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✪ Study protocol for evaluating Six Building Blocks for opioid management implementation in primary care practices

Authors:

Sarah J. Shoemaker-Hunt, Leigh Evans, Holly Swan, Olivia Bacon, Brooke Ike, Laura-Mae Baldwin, & Michael L. Parchman

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science Communications

Abstract:

Background

The Six Building Blocks for improving opioid management (6BBs) is a program for improving the management of patients in primary care practices who are on long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain. The 6BBs include building leadership and consensus; aligning policies, patient agreements, and workflows; tracking and monitoring patient care; conducting planned, patient-centered visits; tailoring care for complex patients; and measuring success. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funded the development of a 6BBs implementation guide: a step-by-step approach for independently implementing the 6BBs in a practice. This mixed-method study seeks to assess practices’ use of the implementation guide to implement the 6BBs and the effectiveness of 6BBs implementation on opioid management processes of care among practices using the implementation guide.

Methods

Data collection is guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, Proctor’s taxonomy of implementation outcomes, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. A diverse group of health care organizations with primary care clinics across the USA will participate in the study over 15 months. Qualitative data collection will include semi-structured interviews with stakeholders at each organization at two time points, notes from routine check-in calls, and document review. These data will be used to understand practices’ motivation for participation, history with opioid management efforts, barriers and facilitators to implementation, and implementation progress. Quantitative data collection will consist of a provider and staff survey, an implementation milestones assessment, and quarterly opioid prescribing quality measures. These data will supplement our understanding of implementation progress and will allow us to assess changes over time in providers’ opioid prescribing practices, prescribing self-efficacy, challenges to providing guideline-driven care, and practices’ opioid prescribing quality measures. Qualitative data will be coded and analyzed for emergent themes. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and clustered multivariate regression.

Discussion

This study contributes to the knowledge of the implementation and effectiveness of a team-based approach to opioid management in primary care practices. Information gleaned from this study can be used to inform efforts to curtail opioid prescribing and assist primary care practices considering implementing the 6BBs.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**

✪ First-year implementation of mailed FIT colorectal cancer screening programs in two Medicaid/Medicare health insurance plans: qualitative learnings from health plan quality improvement staff and leaders

Authors:

Laura-Mae Baldwin, Jennifer L. Schneider, Malaika Schwartz, Jennifer S. Rivelli, Beverly B. Green, Amanda F. Petrik & Gloria D. Coronado

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the open access journal BMC Health Services Research

Abstract:

Background

Colorectal cancer screening rates remain low, especially among certain racial and ethnic groups and the uninsured and Medicaid insured. Clinics and health care systems have adopted population-based mailed fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) programs to increase screening, and now health insurance plans are beginning to implement mailed FIT programs. We report on challenges to and successes of mailed FIT programs during their first year of implementation in two health plans serving Medicaid and dual eligible Medicaid/Medicare enrollees.

Methods

This qualitative descriptive study gathered data through in-depth interviews with staff and leaders at each health plan (n = 10). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, field notes from program planning meetings between the research team and the health plans, and internal research team debriefs informed interview guide development. Qualitative research staff used Atlas.ti to code the health plan interviews and develop summary themes through an iterative content analysis approach.

Results

We identified first-year implementation challenges in five thematic areas: 1) program design, 2) vendor experience, 3) engagement/communication, 4) reaction/satisfaction of stakeholders, and 5) processing/returning of mailed kits. Commonly experienced challenges by both health plans related to the time-consuming nature of the programs to set up, and complexities and delays in working with vendors. We found implementation successes in the same five thematic areas as well as four additional areas of: 1) leadership support, 2) compatibility with the health plan, 3) broader impacts, and 4) collaboration with researchers. Commonly experienced successes included the ability to adapt the mailed FIT program to the individual health plan culture and needs, and the synchronicity between the programs and their organizational missions and goals.

Conclusions

Both health plans successfully adapted mailed FIT programs to their own culture and resources and used their strong quality management resources to maximize success in overcoming the time demands of setting up the program and working with their vendors. Mailed FIT programs administered by health plans, especially those serving Medicaid- and dual eligible Medicaid/Medicare-insured populations, may be an important resource to support closing gaps in colorectal cancer screening among traditionally underserved populations.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**

Development of a Wellness Committee Implementation Index for Workplace Health Promotion Programs in Small Businesses

Authors:

Meagan C. Brown, Jeffrey R. Harris, Kristen Hammerback, Marlana J. Kohn, Amanda T. Parrish, Gary K. Chan, India J. Ornelas, Christian D. Helfrich, Peggy A. Hannon

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

Subscription Required for Full Text Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the subscription access American Journal of Health Promotion

✪ Research translation for military and veteran health: research, practice, policy

Authors:

Jeffrey P. Haibach, Katherine D. Hoerster, Lindsey Dorflinger, Lisa M. McAndrew, Daniel G. Cassidy, David E. Goodrich, Jill E. Bormann, Julie Lowery, Steven M. Asch, Susan D. Raffa, Tannaz Moin, Alan L. Peterson, Michael G. Goldstein, Tracy Neal-Walden, Gerald W. Talcott, Christopher L. Hunter, & Sara J. Knight

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the journal Translational Behavioral Medicine

Validation of a counseling guide for adherence to antiretroviral therapy using implementation science

Authors:

Flor Yesenia Musayón-Oblitas, Cesar Paul Cárcamo, Sarah Gimbel, Juan Ignacio Echevarria Zarate, and Ana Beatriz Graña Espinoza

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the open access journal Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem

Abstract:

Objective:

To determine the contents that must be included in the usual counseling to improve the adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) of HIV patients, according to their different levels of alcohol consumption, and to determine the validity of the Counseling Guide in improving the adherence to ART in patients who consume alcohol using Implementation Science.

Method:

This is an observational study with formative and validation phases. The formative phase defined the content, approach and structure of the counseling. Validation included focus groups with patients and nurses, trial process by an expert and a pilot test. The criteria evaluated based on Implementation Science were: intervention source, evidence strength and quality, relative advantage, and complexity. The following criteria were also evaluated: usefulness, practicality, acceptability, sustainability, effectiveness; content consistency and congruence; procedural compliance and difficulties, and time spent in counseling.

Results:

The strength of evidence of the counseling is High-IIA, with strong level of recommendation and presenting usefulness, practicality, acceptability, sustainability and effectiveness. Eight in 11 experts argued that the Guide is clear, consistent and congruent. Initial counseling takes around 24 minutes; and follow-up counseling, 21. The instruments of the Guide present reliability levels between good and high (0.65 ≥ alpha ≤ 0.92).

Conclusion:

The Counseling Guide is valid to improve the adherence to antiretroviral therapy in patients who consume alcohol.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**

Two Medicaid health plans’ models and motivations for improving colorectal cancer screening rates

Authors:

Jennifer K Coury, Jennifer L Schneider, Beverly B Green, Laura-Mae Baldwin, Amanda F Petrik, Jennifer S Rivelli, Malaika R Schwartz, & Gloria D Coronado

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

Subscription Required for Full Text Access

Published: February 2020

Read the full text in the subscription access journal Translational Behavioral Medicine

De-implementing Inhaled Corticosteroids to Improve Care and Safety in COPD Treatment: Primary Care Providers’ Perspectives

Authors:

Krysttel Stryczek, Colby Lea, Chris Gillespie, George Sayre, Scott Wanner, Seppo T. Rinne, Renda Soylemez Wiener, Laura Feemster, Edmunds Udris, David H. Au, & Christian D. Helfrich

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

Subscription Required for Full Text Access

Published: January 2020

Read the full text in the subscription access Journal of General Internal Medicine

✪ Longitudinal Remote Coaching for Implementation of Perinatal Collaborative Care: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Authors:

Amritha Bhat, Ian M. Bennett, Amy M. Bauer, Rinad S. Beidas, Whitney Eriksen, Frances K. Barg, Rachel Gold, Jürgen Unützer

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: January 2020

Read the full text in the open access journal Psychiatric Services

Abstract:

The collaborative care model (CoCM) is a multicomponent, team-based integrated behavioral health framework. Its effectiveness in the treatment of perinatal depression is established, but implementation has been limited. The authors used longitudinal remote coaching (LRC) as a novel implementation strategy to support systematic case review in a multistate cluster-randomized trial of CoCM for perinatal depression. They describe LRC for perinatal CoCM in three clinics and use of a mixed-methods analysis of data from LRC feedback forms and interviews with participants. LRC is a scalable implementation strategy with potential to support complex models of integrated behavioral health, such as perinatal CoCM.

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**

✪ Addressing low-value pharmacological prescribing in primary prevention of CVD through a structured evidence-based and theory-informed process for the design and testing of de-implementation strategies: the DE-imFAR study

Authors:

Alvaro Sanchez, Jose Ignacio Pijoan, Susana Pablo, Marta Mediavilla, Rita Sainz de Rozas, Itxasne Lekue, Susana Gonzalez-Larragan, Gaspar Lantaron, Jon Argote, Arturo García-Álvarez, Pedro Maria Latorre, Christian D. Helfrich & Gonzalo Grandes

University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.

✪ Open Access

Published: January 2020

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science

Abstract:

Background

De-implementation or abandonment of ineffective or low-value healthcare is becoming a priority research field globally due to the growing empirical evidence of the high prevalence of such care and its impact in terms of patient safety and social inefficiency. Little is known, however, about the factors, barriers, and facilitators involved or about interventions that are effective in promoting and accelerating the de-implementation of low-value healthcare. The De-imFAR study seeks to carry out a structured, evidence-based, and theory-informed process involving the main stakeholders (clinicians, managers, patients, and researchers) for the design, deployment, and assessment of de-implementation strategies for reducing low-value pharmacological prescribing.

Methods

A phase I formative study using a systematic and comprehensive framework based on theory and evidence for the design of implementation strategies—specifically, the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW)—will be conducted to design and model de-implementation strategies to favor reductions in low-value pharmacological prescribing of statins in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by main stakeholders (clinicians, managers, patients, and researchers) in a collegiate way. Subsequently, a phase II comparative hybrid trial will be conducted to assess the feasibility and potential effectiveness of at least one active de-implementation strategy to reduce low-value pharmacological prescribing of statins in primary prevention of CVD compared to the usual procedures for dissemination of clinical practice guidelines (“what-not-to-do” recommendations). A mixed-methods evaluation will be used: quantitative for the results of the implementation at the professional level (e.g., adoption, reach and implementation or execution of the recommended clinical practice); and qualitative to determine the feasibility and perceived impact of the de-implementation strategies from the clinicians’ perspective, and patients’ experiences related to the clinical care received.

Discussion

The DE-imFAR study aims to generate valid scientific knowledge about the design and development of de-implementation strategies using theory- and evidence-based methodologies suggested by implementation science. It will explore the effectiveness of these strategies and their acceptability among clinicians, policymakers, and patients. Its ultimate goal is to maximize the quality and efficiency of our health system by abandoning low-value pharmacological prescribing.

Trial Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04022850. Registered 17 July 2019

**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**