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Context: Implementing interprofessional advanced access (AA) requires reorganizing the practices of all team members to improve the timeliness of primary care. Often, team members do not know how to engage in a meaningful change process journey. Evidence-based change strategies that address fundamental care delivery processes could help improve timely access to the appropriate professionals while improving satisfaction of both staff and patients. Objective: To describe foundational evidence-based change strategies used by external facilitators to improve interprofessional AA in primary healthcare (PHC) clinics. Study design and analysis: Participatory action research was used to analyze change strategies and steps required for their implementation. AA indicators (3rd next available appointment, continuity of care, and availability for urgent care) were followed longitudinally to adapt the change strategies and assess their progressive impacts. This process led to the development of change packages. Setting: 8 interprofessional PHC clinics in Quebec, Canada. Population studied: Physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and pharmacists. Intervention: External facilitators supported PHC clinics while relying on quality improvement techniques according to the Model for Improvement. Outcomes: Change packages: standardized tools to inform the planning, implementation, and monitoring of change strategies. These include: 1) Steps required to implement the strategy; 2) Key indicators to monitor change and evaluate the strategy's success; 3) Lessons learned from the process. Results: 4 different change packages were developed. 3 change packages support transformation of appointment systems, including a prioritization algorithm for appointment scheduling, integration of time slots for urgent care, and integration of an online appointment scheduler. One change package aims to improve patient flow and professional autonomy using collective orders. The contents of these change packages, including lessons learnt and impacts on key indicators of AA across participating clinics, will be presented. Conclusions: Improving AA in PHC is complex, but essential change strategies appeared to be common first steps among clinics undertaking this journey. Resulting change packages provide road maps to successfully guide the improvement of AA, lay a strong foundation for further improvement steps, and build a culture of improvement within and among PHC clinics., Presenters Isabelle Gaboury, PhD, Mylaine Breton, PhD, Francois Bordeleau, MSc, Kathy Perreault, PsyD, MPsy, Elisabeth Martin, MSc, Marie-Eve Poitras, PhD, MSc, RN, Sabina Malham, PhD, MSc, RM, Lara Maillet, PhD, [...]

Context: Almost all parents search web-based information for their children. This study focuses on parents with low socioeconomic status (SES), a correlate of health literacy (determinants of child education/health); specifically, their experience of seeking information on the Naitre et Grandir (N&G) website (trustworthy information on child development, education and health in clear language). Objectives: To measure the influence of a health literacy intervention on (a) the frequency of the utilization of a questionnaire to understand the perceived outcomes of N&G information, and (b) parents' expected benefits of this information. Study Design and Analysis: A 4-year prospective time series. Statistical analyses were descriptive and inferential. Setting: For each N&G webpage, parents are invited to complete a questionnaire (Information Assessment Method, IAM) to report their intention to use and expected benefits of the webpage information. Population studied: Quebec parents of 0-8-year-old children who completed at least one IAM questionnaire. Intervention: An improved version of the IAM, the IAM+ was developed with low SES parents and implemented in January 2019. Main outcome measures: IAM data were collected in the pre-intervention (2017-2018) and the post-intervention (2019-2020) periods. Results: Participants completed 10,362 IAM questionnaires. The proportion of responses and reported benefits from low SES participants increased post-intervention. Low SES participants and particularly low SES fathers expected greater benefits from the accessed web information compared to other participants and mothers. Conclusions: Results suggest (a) family physicians recommend trustworthy easy-to-read information resources to all patients when needed, including patients with a low literacy level; (b) web content that incorporates international health literacy standards is associated with greater expected benefits among low SES parents; (c) increasing father awareness and father-inclusive content can lead to greater expected benefits; and (d) the IAM questionnaire that is accessible on all devices, including smartphones, can help low SES parents provide feedback to web editors regarding the outcomes of their content., Presenters Pierre Pluye, MD, PhD, Albina Tskhay, Roland Grad, MD, MSc, FCFP, Melanie Barwick, PhD, CPsych, Genevieve Doray, Gillian Bartlett-Esquilant, PhD, Christine Loignon, PhD, Araceli Gonzalez Reyes, MSc, Reem El [...]

PURPOSE To measure the effectiveness of a 4-month interdisciplinary multifaceted intervention based on a change in care delivery for patients with multimorbidity in primary care practices. METHODS A pragmatic randomized controlled trial with a mixed-methods design in patients aged 18 to 80 years with 3 or more chronic conditions from 7 family medicine groups (FMGs) in Quebec, Canada. Health care professionals (nurses, nutritionists, kinesiologists) from the FMGs were trained to deliver the patient-centered intervention based on a motivational approach and self-management support. Primary outcomes: self-management (Health Education Impact Questionnaire); and self-efficacy. Secondary outcomes: health status, quality of life, and health behaviors. Quantitative analyses used multi-level mixed effects and generalized linear mixed models controlling for clustering within FMGs. We also conducted in-depth interviews with patients, family members, and health care professionals. RESULTS The trial randomized 284 patients (144 in intervention group, 140 in control group). The groups were comparable. After 4 months, the intervention showed a neutral effect for the primary outcomes. There was significant improvement in 2 health behaviors (healthy eating with odds ratios [OR] 4.36; P = .006, and physical activity with OR 3.43; P = .023). The descriptive qualitative evaluation revealed that the patients reinforced their self-efficacy and improved their self-management which was divergent from the quantitative results. CONCLUSIONS Quantitatively, this intervention showed a neutral effect on the primary outcomes and substantial improvement in 2 health behaviors as secondary outcomes. Qualitatively, the intervention was evaluated as positive. The combination of qualitative and quantitative designs proved to be a good design for evaluating this complex intervention. Key words: interdisciplinary research; multimorbidity; patient care team; pragmatic clinical trial, INTRODUCTION Much effort has been deployed internationally to improve care and outcomes for persons with multimorbidity in primary care. The Patient-Centered Innovations for Persons with Multimorbidity research program, funded by [...]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the V1SAGES case management intervention (Vulnerable Patients in Primary Care: Nurse Case Management and Self-management Support) for frequent users of health care services with chronic disease and complex care needs on psychological distress and patient activation.Methods: We used a 2-phase sequential mixed methods design. The first phase was a pragmatic randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis that measured the effects of the intervention compared with usual care on psychological distress and patient activation before and after 6 months. The second phase had a qualitative descriptive design and entailed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews (25 patients, 6 case management nurses, 9 health managers) and focus groups (8 patients' spouses, 21 family physicians) to understand stakeholders' perceived effects of the intervention on patients.Results: A total of 247 patients were randomized into the intervention group (n = 126) or the control group (n = 121). Compared with usual care, the intervention reduced psychological distress (odds ratio = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19-0.95, P = .04), but did not have any significant effect on patient activation (P = .43). Qualitative results suggested that patients and their spouses benefitted from the case management intervention, gaining a sense of security, and stakeholders noted better patient self-management of health.Conclusions: Together, our study's quantitative and qualitative results suggest that case management reduces psychological distress, making patients and caregivers feel more secure, whereas impact on self-management is unclear. Case management is a promising avenue to improve outcomes among frequent users of health care with complex needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the V1SAGES case management intervention (Vulnerable Patients in Primary Care: Nurse Case Management and Self-management Support) for frequent users of health care services with chronic disease and complex care needs on psychological distress and patient activation., Methods: We used a 2-phase sequential mixed methods design. The first phase was a pragmatic randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis that measured the effects of the intervention compared with usual care on psychological distress and patient activation before and after 6 months. The second phase had a qualitative descriptive design and entailed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews (25 patients, 6 case management nurses, 9 health managers) and focus groups (8 patients' spouses, 21 family physicians) to understand stakeholders' perceived effects of the intervention on patients., Results: A total of 247 patients were randomized into the intervention group (n = 126) or the control group (n = 121). Compared with usual care, the intervention reduced psychological distress (odds ratio = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19-0.95, P = .04), but did not have any significant effect on patient activation ( P = .43). Qualitative results suggested that patients and their spouses benefitted from the case management intervention, gaining a sense of security, and stakeholders noted better patient self-management of health., Conclusions: Together, our study's quantitative and qualitative results suggest that case management reduces psychological distress, making patients and caregivers feel more secure, whereas impact on self-management is unclear. Case management is a promising avenue to improve outcomes among frequent users of health care with complex needs., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: authors report none., (© 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.)