Table 1 Definitions of implementation categories
From: Implementation plans included in World Health Organisation guidelines
Technique category | Sub-category | Definition |
|---|---|---|
Education outreach | Lecture-based workshops | Continuing education workshop for health professionals that are lecture based and does not mention interaction. (keywords: workshops) |
Interactive workshops | Continuing education for health professionals in joint, interactive learning (keywords: interactive) (may/may not include evaluation component) | |
Training | Teaching healthcare providers about the recommendations of the WHO guideline (keywords: Training, Training programs, Education of health professionals, continuing education) (any teaching that is not otherwise specified) | |
Communication materials (posters, leaflets, flip charts, job aids) | Distribution to individuals, or groups, of educational materials to support clinical care, i.e. any intervention in which knowledge is distributed (keywords: training material, handouts, flow charts, posters, leaflets, flip charts, job aids, CD-ROM, slide presentations)a | |
Educational follow-up/practice visits | Personal visits by a trained person to health workers in their own settings, to provide information with the aim of changing practice. (keywords: practice visits, mentoring)a | |
Information dissemination | Hard copies of guidelines | Published guidelines on paper/print (keywords: print, hard copy) |
Electronic publishing | Published guidelines electronically and/or online (keywords: website, emailing list, e-repository, elibrary) | |
Research briefs | Summary of the evidence that informed the guideline, either as a separate document or supplementary material. (keywords: supplementary research material, research briefs) | |
Translation of documents from English to other languages | Mentions translation | |
Publications in technical and scientific journals | Publication of the guidelines and/or their development process in technical and scientific journals (keywords: journal, peer reviewed) | |
Policy briefs | A written concise summary of the guideline/focused on policy implications (keywords: policy brief) | |
Presentations | A speech or talk in which the guideline is shown and explained to an audience (keywords: presentation, briefing) | |
Conferences | A formal meeting for discussion, launch event at a medical/scientific conference (keywords: conference) | |
Mass media campaigns | Wide distribution and promotion of the guideline through mass media (keywords: mass media, TV, billboards, blogs, social marketing, campaign) | |
Audit/feedback/peer review | Monitoring and evaluation surveys | Mention monitoring and evaluation of the implementation/uptake of guidelines (keywords: survey, register screening, monitoring, evaluation) |
Supervisory tools w/constructive feedback | Routine formal supervision visits by health staff. | |
Interrupted time series clinical audits | A quality improvement process conducted in set timeframe from initial guideline implementation | |
Criterion based clinical audits | A quality improvement process based on a set of criteria | |
Subsequent reminders | Manual reminders to prompt health worker to follow the recommendations | |
Computer-delivered reminder/clinical support systems | Computerised interventions that prompt health workers to perform an action during a consultation with a patient, for example computer decision support systems | |
Patient-mediated | Actively engage patients to improve their knowledge, experience, service use, health behaviour, and health status [29] | |
Use of local opinion leaders | The identification and use of identifiable local (country-based) opinion leaders to promote good clinical practice (keywords: opinion leaders, experts, clinician associations)a | |
Policy regional/national/local | Local consensus building/consulting stakeholders | Formal or informal local consensus processes, for example agreeing on a clinical protocol to manage a patient group, or promoting the implementation of guidelines (keywords: consensus building, stakeholders, participatory process) |
Laws, legal policies and framework | Laws, legal policies and framework set out for the implementation of the guideline (keywords: policy, law, framework) | |
National standards and guidelines (adaptation) | Adapting a guideline for a local health system and setting national standards | |
WHO country offices | Mention of distribution to WHO country offices | |
WHO regional offices | Mention of distribution to WHO regional offices | |
Government ministries/Ministry of Health | Mention of distribution to Ministry of Health | |
WHO collaborating offices | Mention of distribution to WHO collaborating offices | |
UN offices | Mention of distribution to UN offices/agencies | |
NGOs | Mention of distribution to NGOs | |
Implementing partners | Mention implementing partners, e.g. InterAgency Task Team, PEPFAR, PMTCT/Peds Technical Workgroup, Global Fund | |
Financial intervention | Reimbursement | Compensation paid (to someone) for health service provided; changes to reimbursement scheme |
Mention of budgets for training programmes | Mention of budgets for training programmes | |
Mention of financial resources, human resources, infrastructure or equipment | Mention of financial resources, human resources, infrastructure or equipment |