Cargando…

The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners

BACKGROUND: The purpose of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is to make the best possible summary of the evidence regarding specific health interventions in order to influence health care and policy decisions. The need for decision makers to find relevant HTA data when it is needed is a barrier to...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rashiq, Saifudin, Barton, Pamela, Harstall, Christa, Schopflocher, Donald, Taenzer, Paul
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440859/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16579855
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-6-21
_version_ 1782127335654293504
author Rashiq, Saifudin
Barton, Pamela
Harstall, Christa
Schopflocher, Donald
Taenzer, Paul
author_facet Rashiq, Saifudin
Barton, Pamela
Harstall, Christa
Schopflocher, Donald
Taenzer, Paul
author_sort Rashiq, Saifudin
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The purpose of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is to make the best possible summary of the evidence regarding specific health interventions in order to influence health care and policy decisions. The need for decision makers to find relevant HTA data when it is needed is a barrier to its usefulness. These barriers are highest in rural areas and amongst isolated practitioners. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team developed an interactive case-based instructional strategy on the topic of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) management using clinical evidence derived by HTA. The evidence for each of 18 CNCP interventions was distilled into single-sheet summaries. Clinicians and HTA specialists ('Ambassadors') conducted 11 two-hour interactive sessions on CNCP in eight of Alberta's nine health regions. Pre- and post-session evaluations were conducted. RESULTS: The sessions were attended by 130 individuals representing 14 health and administrative disciplines. The ambassador model was well received. The use of content experts as ambassadors was highly rated. The educational strategy was judged to be effective. Awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management was increased. Although some participants reported practice changes as a result of the workshops, the program was not designed to measure changes in patient outcome. CONCLUSION: The ambassador program was successful in increasing awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management, and positively influenced treatment decisions. Its teaching methods were felt to be unique and innovative by participants. Its methods could be applied to other clinical content areas in order to increase the uptake of the results of HTA.
format Text
id pubmed-1440859
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2006
publisher BioMed Central
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-14408592006-04-20 The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners Rashiq, Saifudin Barton, Pamela Harstall, Christa Schopflocher, Donald Taenzer, Paul BMC Med Educ Research Article BACKGROUND: The purpose of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is to make the best possible summary of the evidence regarding specific health interventions in order to influence health care and policy decisions. The need for decision makers to find relevant HTA data when it is needed is a barrier to its usefulness. These barriers are highest in rural areas and amongst isolated practitioners. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team developed an interactive case-based instructional strategy on the topic of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) management using clinical evidence derived by HTA. The evidence for each of 18 CNCP interventions was distilled into single-sheet summaries. Clinicians and HTA specialists ('Ambassadors') conducted 11 two-hour interactive sessions on CNCP in eight of Alberta's nine health regions. Pre- and post-session evaluations were conducted. RESULTS: The sessions were attended by 130 individuals representing 14 health and administrative disciplines. The ambassador model was well received. The use of content experts as ambassadors was highly rated. The educational strategy was judged to be effective. Awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management was increased. Although some participants reported practice changes as a result of the workshops, the program was not designed to measure changes in patient outcome. CONCLUSION: The ambassador program was successful in increasing awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management, and positively influenced treatment decisions. Its teaching methods were felt to be unique and innovative by participants. Its methods could be applied to other clinical content areas in order to increase the uptake of the results of HTA. BioMed Central 2006-03-31 /pmc/articles/PMC1440859/ /pubmed/16579855 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-6-21 Text en Copyright © 2006 Rashiq et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
spellingShingle Research Article
Rashiq, Saifudin
Barton, Pamela
Harstall, Christa
Schopflocher, Donald
Taenzer, Paul
The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title_full The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title_fullStr The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title_full_unstemmed The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title_short The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners
title_sort alberta ambassador program: delivering health technology assessment results to rural practitioners
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440859/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16579855
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-6-21
work_keys_str_mv AT rashiqsaifudin thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT bartonpamela thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT harstallchrista thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT schopflocherdonald thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT taenzerpaul thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT thealbertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT rashiqsaifudin albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT bartonpamela albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT harstallchrista albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT schopflocherdonald albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT taenzerpaul albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners
AT albertaambassadorprogramdeliveringhealthtechnologyassessmentresultstoruralpractitioners