Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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A workshop session from the 2007 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, Knowledge Translation in Emergency Medicine: Establishing a Research Agenda and Guide Map for Evidence Uptake, focused on developing a research agenda for continuing medical education (CME) in knowledge transfer. Based on quasi-Delphi methodology at the conference session, and subsequent electronic discussion and refinement, the following recommendations are made: 1) Adaptable tools should be developed, validated, and psychometrically tested for needs assessment. 2) "Point of care" learning within a clinical context should be evaluated as a tool for practice changes and improved knowledge transfer. 3) The addition of a CME component to technological platforms, such as search engines and databases, simulation technology, and clinical decision-support systems, may help knowledge transfer for clinicians or increase utilization of these tools and should, therefore, be evaluated. 4) Further research should focus on identifying the appropriate outcomes for physician CME. Emergency medicine researchers should transition from previous media-comparison research agendas to a more rigorous qualitative focus that takes into account needs assessment, instructional design, implementation, provider change, and care change. 5) In the setting of continued physician learning, barriers to the subsequent implementation of knowledge transfer and behavioral changes of physicians should be elicited through research.
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Multicenter Study
Barriers to metered-dose inhaler/spacer use in Canadian pediatric emergency departments: a national survey.
Metered-dose inhalers and spacers (MDI+S) are at least as effective as nebulizers for treating children with mild to moderate asthma exacerbations. Despite advantages in terms of efficacy, side effects, and ease of use, MDI+S are not used in many North American pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). ⋯ MDI+S are infrequently used to treat patients with acute asthma in Canadian PEDs, despite the fact that most emergency staff believe they are effective. Important barriers to using MDI+S have been identified in this study and should be used to guide future implementation strategies.
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More than 90% of the world population receives emergency medical care from different types of practitioners with little or no specific training in the field and with variable guidance and oversight. Emergency medical care is being recognized by actively practicing physicians around the world as an increasingly important domain in the overall health services package for a community. ⋯ This article reviews some of the issues particular to knowledge development and transfer in the international domain. The authors present a set of research proposals developed from a several-month online discussion among practitioners and teachers of emergency medical care in 16 countries from around the globe and from all economic strata, aimed at improving the flow of knowledge from developers and repositories of knowledge to the front lines of clinical care.
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Most clinicians, and especially emergency physicians, are increasingly faced with the need for valid and reliable evidence upon which to base practice decisions in a timely fashion. Despite the accumulation of synthesized evidence in emergency medicine over the past decade, knowledge gaps still exist between what is known and what is practiced. In many cases, this failure in knowledge uptake relates to barriers in uptake as well as the difficulty of translating evidence from research to the bedside. ⋯ In addition, the workshop participants also explored more globally all knowledge translation methods that are distinct from clinical pathways (e.g., audit and feedback, academic detailing, reminders, and local opinion leaders). These are initiatives that are instituted at the level of a particular hospital or with respect to a certain condition, and emergency physicians need to understand their definition and application. Overall, the recommendations arising from this workshop have the potential to alter future emergency care in important ways.
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Information technologies, and specifically clinical decision support systems (CDSSs), are tools that can support the process of knowledge translation in the delivery of emergency department (ED) care. It is essential that during the implementation process, careful consideration be given to the workflow and culture of the ED environment where the system is to be utilized. ⋯ The logistical and educational implications of CDSSs in the ED must also be considered. The specialty of emergency medicine must actively collaborate with other stakeholders in the design, implementation, and evaluation of CDSSs that will be utilized during the delivery of care to our patients.