Implementation Strategies to Improve Knowledge and Adherence to Spinal Cord Injury Guidelines

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a bundle of implementation strategies (local opinion leaders, printed educational materials, and educational outreach) to increase neurocritical care nurses' knowledge of and adherence to spinal cord injury guidelines. Design: A preprogram, postprogram, and follow-up design was used to evaluate outcomes. Methods: Adherence was measured via self-reported anticipatory adherence; knowledge was measured by an author-developed assessment. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used for data analysis. Findings: Improvements in nursing knowledge and adherence were found from preprogram to postprogram to follow-up time points. Conclusions: Outcomes noted in this study provide additional support for using this bundle of implementation strategies and were consistent with previous research documenting the usefulness of these strategies. Clinical Relevance: Although further research is needed, this study highlighted a systematic way of implementing evidence-based practices to improve neurocritical care nurses' knowledge of and adherence to spinal cord injury guidelines.