Rationale: Most older adults wish to age in place and participate in their communities. Evidence-based clinical guidelines can support this goal, but the challenge lies in disseminating these guidelines among occupational therapists and ensuring their implementation in practice.
Objectives: To disseminate an evidence based guideline and enhance occupational therapists’ compliance with recommendations to improve aging in place.
Methods: In the pilot project ‘Simonne’, occupational therapists are trained to implement recommendations from an evidence-based guideline. The implementation strategy combines the Johanna Bridge Institute’s approach with the 5-step guideline implementation method by Peters (2020). The experiences gained in this pilot are used for a national roll-out.
Results: A professional and interprofessional network was established to disseminate the guideline and pilot its implementation. Evikey, a national evidence-based platform (www.evikey.be), was used for dissemination, supported by social media and an article featuring an interview with the guideline developers. Four occupational therapists (both senior and junior) were selected to pilot the recommendations.
During the identification phase, the Know-Do Gap was analyzed through interviews with therapists and management. An interdisciplinary team of stakeholders was formed to ensure sustainability. In the context analysis phase, barriers and facilitators were identified and prioritized. In the implementation phase, strategies were operationalized to enhance capacity building, including podcasts and facilitated peer learning sessions. The evaluation phase involved developing process and structure quality indicators, with outcomes used to adjust the implementation strategy as needed. With government support, the adjusted implementation plan will be rolled out nationally.
Conclusion: Attention must be paid to both the dissemination and implementation of new evidence-based information. A robust professional and interprofessional network, and conducting a pilot is prerequisite for a sustainable national roll-out.