How valuable is an implementation toolkit for midwives? An exploratory study

Background

Incorporating evidence-based approaches in maternity care throughout the entire trajectory from pregnancy through to the postnatal phase is integral to good public health. Yet, despite developing theories, frameworks, and models to guide midwives’ implementation efforts, implementing new evidence-based practices in midwifery practice settings remains challenging.

Methods

An exploratory study design was used to conduct an initial assessment of the appeal and suitability of an implementation ‘how to’ Toolkit for Australian change-leader midwives. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention by evaluating midwives’ experience of using the Toolkit, and report on the usability of the Toolkit in maternity care. We also sought to establish the degree to which the intervention could reach a broad cross-section of midwives, confirming the usability of the Toolkit across a range of public and private maternity services.

Results

Twenty-four midwives participated in our study. Participants provided practical Toolkit evaluation data, contextual information related to Toolkit content, their understanding of what implementation in a healthcare context is, and factors that hindered midwives' implementation efforts in clinical settings. The importance of co-design research and involving end-users in product development were also highlighted as crucial factors underpinning the effectiveness of resources like ours, particularly those designed to support specialist disciplines and the implementation challenges experienced by health practitioners in clinical environments.

Conclusions

It is crucial to progress health care practitioners understanding of how to accelerate the implementation and sustainment of new evidence-based practices in clinical settings, including strategies to support organisational readiness, local barriers or challenges, and partnerships between researchers and end-users. Evaluation of our midwifery-specific implementation Toolkit indicates health professionals require tailored materials and information specific to their disciplines and clinical work environments; ideally, packaged in a centalised, open-access format. Future research is required to evaluate the mid-to-longterm impact of our Toolkit on implementation initiatives in midwifery contexts, and to establish the adaptability of our Toolkit in other settings, and with other disciplines.