Exploring social movement concepts and actions in a knowledge uptake and sustainability context: A concept analysis.

Objectives: To share a concept analysis of social movement aimed at advancing its application to evidence uptake and sustainability in health-care.
Methods: We applied Walker and Avant method to clarify the concept of social movement in the context of knowledge uptake and sustainability. Peer-reviewed and grey literature databases were systematically searched for relevant reports that described how social movement action led to evidence-based practice changes in health and community settings. Titles, abstracts and full texts were reviewed independently and in duplicate, resulting in 38 included articles.
Results: Social movement action for knowledge uptake and sustainability can be defined as individuals, groups, or organizations that, as voluntary and intrinsically motivated change agents, mobilize around a common cause to improve outcomes through knowledge uptake and sustainability. The 10 defining attributes, three antecedents and three consequences that we identified are dynamic and interrelated, often mutually reinforcing each other to fortify various aspects of the social movement. Examples of defining attributes include an urgent need for action, collective action and collective identity. The concept analysis resulted in the development of the Social Movement Action Framework.
Conclusions: Social movement action can provide a lens through which we view implementation science. Collective action and collective identity - concepts less frequently canvassed in implementation science literature - can lend insight into grassroots approaches to uptake and sustainability. Findings can also inform providers and change leaders on the practicalities of harnessing social movement action for real-world change initiatives. By mobilizing individuals, groups, or organizations through social movement approaches, they can engage as powered change agents and teams that impact the individual, organizational and health systems levels to facilitate knowledge uptake and sustainability.
Competing Interests: Doris Grinspun has declared a conflict of interest in the following categories: Support for attending meetings and/or travel; patents, planned, issued, or pending; Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory board; Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee, or advocacy group paid or unpaid; and Receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts or other services. None of the other co-authors declared having a conflict of interest that may have influenced the work reported in this article.
(© 2022 The Authors.)