• Kris Vanhaecht, Walter Sermeus, Jan Peers, Cathy Lodewijckx, Svin Deneckere, Fabrizio Leigheb, Steven Boonen, An Sermon, Paulo Boto, Rita Veloso Mendes, Massimiliano Panella, and EQCP study group.
• Health Services Research Group, School of Public Health, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. kris.vanhaecht@med.kuleuven.be
• Bmc Health Serv Res. 2012 May 24; 12: 124.

BackgroundProximal femur fracture (PFF) is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The European Quality of Care Pathway (EQCP) study on PFF (NCT00962910) was designed to determine how care pathways (CP) for hospital treatment of PFF affect consistency of care, adherence to evidence-based key interventions, and clinical outcome.Methods/DesignAn international cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) will be performed in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Portugal. Based on power analyses, a sample of 44 hospital teams and 437 patients per arm will be included in the study. In the control arm, usual care will be provided. Experimental teams will implement a care pathway which will include three active components: a formative evaluation of quality and organization of the care setting, a set of evidence-based key interventions, and support of the development and implementation of the CP. Main outcome will be the six-month mortality rate.DiscussionThe EQCP study constitutes the first international cRCT on care pathways. The EQCP project was designed as both a research and a quality improvement project and will provide a real-world framework for process evaluation to improve our understanding of why and when CP can really work.Trial Registration NumberNCT00962910.

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