Integrating Care from Home to Hospital to Home: Using Participatory Design to Develop a Provincial Transitions in Care Guideline

Robin L Walker; Staci Hastings; Charles Cook; Ceara T Cunningham; Lisa Cook; Jodi Cullum; Judy Seidel; John Hagens; Scott Oddie

doi:10.5334/ijic.5674

Integrating Care from Home to Hospital to Home: Using Participatory Design to Develop a Provincial Transitions in Care Guideline

Int J Integr Care. 2022 May 20;22(2):16. doi: 10.5334/ijic.5674. eCollection 2022 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Robin L Walker^{1

2

3}, Staci Hastings^{1

2}, Charles Cook^{1

2}, Ceara T Cunningham^{1

2

3}, Lisa Cook^{1

2

4}, Jodi Cullum^{1

2}, Judy Seidel^{1

2

3}, John Hagens^{2

3}, Scott Oddie^{1

2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Applied Research and Evaluation Services, Primary Health Care, Alberta Health Services, Alberta, Canada.
² Primary Health Care Integration Network Scientific Office, Alberta Health Services, Alberta, Canada.
³ Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Patients worldwide experience fragmented and uncoordinated care as they transition between primary and acute care. To improve system integration and outcomes for patients, in 2017/2018 Alberta Health Services (largest health services delivery organization in Canada) called for a coordinated approach to improve transitions in care (TiC). Healthcare leadership responded by initiating the development of a province-wide guideline outlining core components of effective transitions in care. This case study highlights the extensive design process used to develop this guideline, with a focus on the participatory design (PD) approach used throughout.

Methods: An iterative, mixed methods PD approach was used to engage over 750 stakeholders through the following activities to establish Guideline content: i) learning collaborative; ii) design-team; iii) targeted online surveys; iv) primary care stakeholder consultation; v) modified Delphi panel; and vi) patient advisory committee.

Results: The result was Alberta's first guideline for supporting patients through TiC: "Alberta's Home to Hospital to Home Transitions Guideline".

Conclusion: The extensive design process used to create the Guideline was instrumental in establishing content, encouraging system integration, and creating conditions to support provincial implementation. While intended to improve and standardize patient care in Alberta, the methods used and lessons learned throughout the development of the Guideline are applicable internationally.

Keywords: guideline; integration; participatory design; transitions in care.

Publication types

Case Reports