Background: Comparative effectiveness research (CER), funded by PCORI, has provided information that can be used by healthcare providers and patients for decision making. Currently, there is a need to facilitate implementation and adoption of CER findings in the healthcare setting. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) are an important group to target for dissemination and implementation of CER findings. APRNs increasingly practice in medically underserved and rural communities where access to CER findings may improve health outcomes. However, implementing the CER findings requires APRN training in implementation and evaluation methods.

Proposed Solution to the Problem: This project will establish the infrastructure within Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing (PVAMU CON) in Houston, Texas, to provide a three-day intensive course to inform APRNs of PCORI-funded CER findings, provide training in implementation, and post-training support for uptake of the treatments in patient care.

Objectives: Establish a multi-stakeholder advisory team, consisting of APRNs, organizational leaders, and patients, for program planning; conduct focus groups among APRNs and organizational leaders to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation of CER findings; develop an implementation training program and provide training to local APRNs annually; develop a program of support, which will include an implementation toolkit and collaborative partnerships between APRNs and academic faculty for implementation of CER findings in the clinical setting; and evaluate program impact on knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to use findings (short term) and actual use post-training (long term).

Activities: Conduct focus groups with APRNs and organizational leaders at project start; regular program planning meetings with advisory team; conduct of the three-day intensive course during the two-year project.

Projected Outcomes and Outputs: Short-term outcomes include the multi-stakeholder advisory committee and findings of the focus groups. Medium-term outcomes will be the implementation curriculum and implementation toolkit, the three-day intensive program agenda, CEU credits for the program, and program impact on knowledge, self-efficacy, and intention to implement CER findings in practice. Long-term outcomes include actual implementation of CER findings by APRNs in a clinical care setting.

Patient and Stakeholder Engagement Plan: Primary stakeholders are APRNs, organizational leaders, and patients from an existing research advisory committee in the Harris Health System. These stakeholders will be engaged in all aspects of the project, including implementation curriculum development, program planning, and dissemination of project findings. Stakeholders will be engaged a minimum of two hours a month through attendance of working advisory team meetings.

Project Collaborators: PVAMU CON, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health, and the Harris Health System