Development and Results of an Implementation Plan for High-Intensity Gait Training.
Jennifer L Moore, Elisabeth Bø, Anne Erichsen and 5 others
PMID 34369450WHAT IT FOUND
An implementation plan helped physiotherapists deliver high-intensity gait training in stroke rehab.
Clinicians prioritized the training and reduced other interventions, while patients reported high satisfaction. Because there was no control group, this describes a process change rather than proving the plan caused improved walking.
Key findings
01After the implementation plan, 89% of clinicians prioritized high-intensity gait training and reported improved skills in delivering it.
02Clinicians significantly reduced the number of non-task-specific interventions provided to patients requiring assistance to walk.
03Patients who received the high-intensity training reported high satisfaction, with 100% agreeing they were satisfied with the treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
There was no control group for the implementation strategies themselves, so it is impossible to know which specific steps caused the change in clinician behavior. The study took place in only two units in Norway with a high baseline readiness for change, so results may not apply to clinics with different cultures or resources. Patient functional outcomes were published separately and are not detailed here, so this summary cannot confirm if the implementation process directly improved walking. Staff turnover occurred during the project, and the follow-up survey included newly hired clinicians, which may affect the consistency of the data.
Declared interests
Funding came from internal Norwegian health centers, the Norwegian Fund for Postgraduate Training in Physiotherapy, and US NIH grants. Author Jennifer L. Moore is an advisor for the Southeastern Norway Regional Center for Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation and founder of the Institute for Knowledge Translation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this specific implementation plan caused the patients' improved walking speeds. The paper reports process changes and satisfaction, while the functional outcomes were published in a separate study, and this design lacks a control group to isolate the effect of the knowledge translation strategies.