Moving Stroke Guidelines into Clinical Practice
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and a leading cause of death in Canada. In Alberta, a major effort is underway to improve stroke functional and quality of life outcomes. The Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy involves a series of standards of care that set goals and directions for stroke services.
Translating these guidelines into local practice for stroke rehabilitation was Peter Drew's job as Stroke Rehabilitation Coordinator with Alberta Health Services in southern Alberta.
"The standards are very broad," he explains. "We needed to know what strategies are effective when implementing guidelines into stroke rehabilitation practice. We could then take that information and formulate a plan for our area. When the opportunity came up to link my temporary position as rehab coordinator with participation in SEARCH, it was perfect timing."
For his local project, Drew identified six key themes that emerged from the literature on stroke rehabilitation strategies. They are: the need for project champions; provision of stroke education; building of networks; promotion of a research culture; strong links between academics and clinical staff; and the need for policy/procedure development throughout project implementation.
One of the recommendations was immediately followed up in his organization: a stroke coordinator was hired after Drew's temporary position ended. "Peter's research findings were very clear - we realized we needed a champion to continue his work," says Denise Paton, Director of Rehabilitation Medicine. "Although it's still early days and we have not yet realized the full impact of his research, we have a solid foundation to build on and we're definitely on the right track."
Drew is now working as a Clinical Informatics Specialist. "This new job was a great opportunity, even though it was hard for me to leave rehab. SEARCH was one of the reasons I was hired. There's no doubt that the SEARCH experience has helped me professionally."