Using knowledge translation to transform the fundamentals of care: the older person and improving care project

Abstract

This paper describes the first phase of a collaborative research project looking at how front-line clinicians can improve the fundamentals of care older people receive in the acute hospital setting. Supported by the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Nursing Education Fund, this 12-month pilot explores how seven interdisciplinary teams can introduce evidence-based practice protocols in seven areas of care known to be important to older people. The initiative is part of a South Australia state-wide strategy for improving the health care of older people. The research is also exploring the spread of strategies and how they are interpreted and implemented at different levels in the hospital system. This paper focuses on the rationale for selecting a collaborative research approach and explains it in terms of the underlying conceptual framework used to test KT and the subsequent methodological approaches used. It describes the intervention and evaluation approaches.