‘We experienced a lack of tools for strengthening coping and health in encounters with patients with chronic illness’: bridging theory and practice through formative research
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2373075Utgivelsesdato
2015-11Metadata
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Originalversjon
Heggdal, K. (2015) ‘We experienced a lack of tools for strengthening coping and health in encounters with patients with chronic illness’: bridging theory and practice through formative research. International Practice Development Journal, 5(2) 10.19043/ipdj.52.004Sammendrag
Background:
Healthcare personnel in specialist care in Norway took the initiative to develop their
practice in order to improve follow-up of patients with chronic illness. A research project was
constructed that involved a close collaboration between practice and research in the development of
a new, complex intervention to strengthen patients’ ability to live with long-term conditions.
Aims and objectives:
This paper seeks to describe a part of the research process that involved the first-
stage development of the intervention. The first objective is to describe how clinicians, patients and
a health researcher collaborated, and to discuss the benefits of this collaborative work for improving
practice. The second objective is to outline the intervention’s aspects and components.
Method:
Three clinical sites were chosen for developing the intervention: a rehabilitation unit, an
outpatient clinic and a centre for patient education. An interdisciplinary team of nine healthcare
personnel and four patients engaged with the researcher(s) in the formative research. A list of criteria
for reporting on the development of complex interventions was applied to elaborate on intervention
components.
Results:
An intervention was developed that entailed a person-centred approach to facilitating
overall health in chronic illness. This involved a change in practice as the professionals acquired a
new approach to the use of patients’ capacity for health, and as patients began to function as active
partners in health promotion.
Conclusions:
A close collaboration between clinicians, patients and researcher was necessary for
developing a theory and a research-based intervention that improved the follow-up of individuals
diagnosed with long-term conditions. The intervention was designed to be applicable across diagnostic
categories and in a variety of clinical settings. These patients experience a multitude of challenges that
require attention in health promotion. Therefore, health professionals should be encouraged by their
leaders to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers in academia in developing new
interventions for improving practice. Researchers who engage in such projects should be prepared to
take on long-term collaboration.
Implications for practice:
• There is a need to develop the field of health promotion for long-term conditions, and especially
a need to develop interventions to strengthen individuals’ capacity for health, empowerment
and recovery
• An interdisciplinary project team is an advantage when developing interventions that aim to address the challenges experienced by individuals living with long-term conditions
• Partnership with patients in the design and testing of new interventions is necessary to maximise
the relevance and suitability of the intervention.
Beskrivelse
This article by Kristin Heggdal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License. It was originally published inthe International Practice Development Journal, vol. 5, issue, 2015.