Improving the health of the public by 2040

"Over the coming decades, the UK population will face a wide range of complex health challenges and opportunities, many of which can only be fully addressed through strategies to secure and improve the health of the public as a whole. This report explores how to organise our research environment to generate and translate the evidence needed to underpin such strategies."

Improving the health of the public by 2040: Optimising the research environment for a healthier, fairer future
The Academy of Medical
September 2016

Read more here.

Four case studies to explore the added value of Oxford AHSN

"The Oxford Academic Health Science Network (Oxford AHSN) wishes to demonstrate the value of the various projects and programmes that the network has developed and implemented since it was established in 2013. In order to do this, OHE Consulting and RAND Europe conducted analyses of four case study projects:

1. Anxiety & Depression Clinical Network: A targeted 5% improvement in recovery rates
2. Maternity Clinical Network: Improving referral pathways for preterm babies
3. Energy project: Quantifying the value of energy savings and carbon reduction
4. Intermittent Pneumatic Compression: Increasing utilisation of IPCs in immobile stroke patients"

Four case studies to explore the added value of Oxford AHSN
G Marsden, A Martin, B Zamora, J Exley, J Sussex, A Towse
Office of Health Economics
September 2016

Download the publication here.

How is the NHS performing?

"This is the 20th report and aims to take stock of what has happened over the past quarter and to assess the state of the health and care system. It provides an update on how the NHS is coping as it continues to grapple with productivity and reform challenges under continued financial pressure."

How is the NHS performing? September 2016: Quality Monitoring report
R Murray, J Jabbal, J Thompson, D Maguire
The King's Fund
September 2016

Read more here.

Understanding quality in district nursing services

"This report investigates what ‘good’ district nursing care looks like from the perspective of people receiving this care, unpaid carers and district nursing staff and puts forward a framework for understanding the components involved. It also looks at the growing demand–capacity gap in district nursing and the worrying impact that this is having on services, the workforce and the quality and safety of patient care. The report makes recommendations to policy-makers, regulators, commissioners and provider organisations as to how to start to address these pressures."

Understanding quality in district nursing services: Learning from patients, carers and staff
J Maybin, A Charles, M Honeyman
The King's Fund
September 2016

Read more here.

The accompanying quality framework for district nursing is available here.

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) explained

"Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) were announced in the NHS planning guidance published in December 2015. NHS organisations in different parts of the country have been asked to come together to develop ‘place-based plans’ for the future of health and care services in their area. Draft plans were submitted in June 2016, and final plans are expected to be completed in October."

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) explained
The King's Fund
August 2016

Read more here.

Sustainability and Transformation Plans: What we know so far

"This discussion paper reflects the work in progress from one third of STP areas, as captured in July and August 2016. It shows that the scale of the STP process is large and ambitious, and the speed with which plans are being pulled together is astonishing. So far, the plans are not sufficient to close the funding gap, but, if implemented well and combined with high-quality local efficiency improvement, they would go some way to doing so and would demonstrate the capability of the NHS and social care system to deliver. This paper points to some important trends, ideas to be explored and issues that need to be resolved in order to ensure success."

Sustainability and Transformation Plans: What we know so far
N Edwards
Nuffield Trust
September 2016

Read more here.

Why the NHS needs a quality improvement strategy: Chris Ham in conversation with Don Berwick

"Don Berwick is an International Visiting Fellow at The King’s Fund. He led a review into patient safety for David Cameron in 2013, and is recognised as an authority on health care improvement. Chris Ham asks him why he thinks that now is the right time for a quality improvement strategy."

Read the Q & A from the King's Fund here.

The NHS if

"‘The NHS if’ is a collection of essays that explores hypothetical scenarios and their impact on the future of health and care. The King's Fund are asking a small number of experts – some of them members of staff at The King’s Fund and others external experts in their fields – to write short essays that consider ‘what if’ questions about health and care in England. We’ll be publishing these essays on this website throughout 2016.

The aim is to encourage new thinking and debate about possible future scenarios that could fundamentally change health and care. The essays cover three themes: the NHS and society; medicine, data and technology; and how the NHS works."

Read more here.

Clinical commissioning: GPs in charge?

"Clinically led approaches to planning and designing health services are more likely to be both innovative and effective. For this reason, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were set up to put GPs at the heart of NHS planning decisions. What progress have CCGs made in implementing their clinically led model and what more needs to be done? This report looks at what has been learnt – including strategies to overcome challenges and identification of the main barriers to effective involvement – and makes recommendations for the future. Its findings about clinical involvement are relevant not only to policy-makers and CCGs but also to other organisations across the NHS involved in planning and designing services."

Clinical commissioning: GPs in charge?
R Robertson, S Ross, C Naylor, H Holder, S Machaqueiro
The King's Fund
July 2016

Read more here.

Deficits in the NHS 2016

"This briefing draws on data from our quarterly monitoring reports, secondary research and interviews with health care leaders to consider commissioner and provider finances in the round and to provide an overview of the factors that have led to the NHS going into deficit. It goes on to outline some of the strategies being employed to restore financial balance, before drawing together our thoughts on the implications of these strategies for the NHS this year and in the longer term."

Deficits in the NHS 2016
P Dunn, H McKenna, R Murray
The King's Fund
July 2016

Read more here.

Patients as partners

"More collaborative relationships among health and care professionals, patients, service users, carers and communities are essential for the future of the NHS, but what helps to build effective relationships? This guide stems from an evolving body of the Fund's work focused on exploring and supporting shared leadership. This work is reinforced by a growing consensus that health services, agencies, patients and communities need to work together more – and differently."

Patients as partners: Building collaborative relationships among professionals, patients, carers and communities
B Seale
The King's Fund
July 2016

Read more here.

Securing meaningful choice for patients

"This guide sets out more detail on the fundamental enablers for effective patient choice and the key actions needed to strengthen or put them in place."

Securing meaningful choice for patients: CCG planning and improvement guide
NHS England, NHS Improvement,
August 2016

Access the guide here.

Large-scale general practice in England

"In this paper authors present the findings of a review of the literature which contributes to the Nuffield Trust’s stream of work on large-scale general practice, including the recently published findings of a 15-month mixed methods research study, Is Bigger Better? Lessons for Large-Scale General Practice. The report, published in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, aims to answer the following questions:

1. Which organisational form(s) have large-scale collaborations of GP practices adopted in England
2. What are they expected to deliver?
3. What evidence is available on their impact in England?
4. What can we learn from initiatives with similarities?"

Large-scale general practice in England: What can we learn from the literature?
L Pettigrew, N Mays, S Kumpunen, R Rosen
Nuffield Trust
September 2016

Read more here.

Making IT work

"The goal of digitisation of health systems is to promote what has become widely known as healthcare’s Triple Aim: better health, better healthcare, and lower cost. These aims are consistent with those of the NHS’s 2014 Five Year Forward View, which called for improvements in quality and service, as well as £22 billion in efficiencies. The Advisory Group believes that trying to achieve the aims of the Five Year Forward View without giving highest priority to digitisation would be a costly and painful mistake."

Making IT work: Harnessing the power of health information technology to improve care in England
R Wachter
Department of Health
September 2016

Read more here.

2016 Health Profiles

Public Health England has published the 2016 Health Profiles. The Health Profiles provide a snapshot of health and wellbeing for each local authority in England using a range of charts and text. They pull together existing information in one place and contain data on a range of indicators for local populations.

Access them here.

High need, high-cost patients

"Those who face financial or other barriers to care, or who are less likely to seek care when medically needed, may be underrepresented in counts of chronic diseases because they have not had the opportunity to be medically evaluated and diagnosed."

High need, high-cost patients: Who are they and how do they use health care? A population-based comparison of demographics, health care use, and expenditures
SL Hayes, CA Salzberg, D McCarthy, D Radley, MK Abrams, T Shah, G Anderson
The Commonwealth Fund
August 2016

Full report and accompanying date available here.

Health system performance for the high-need patient

"The health care system needs to work better for the highest-need, most-complex patients. This study’s findings highlight the importance of tailoring interventions to address their needs."

Health system performance for the high-need patient: A look at access to care and patient care experiences
CA Salzberg, SL Hayes, D McCarthy, D Radley, MK Abrams, T Shah, G Anderson
The Commonwealth Fund
August 2016

Read more here.

Improving handovers from hospital to home

"This study protocol describes the implementation of TIP, which provides the foundation for a safe, reliable and accurate discharge process. If effective, nationwide implementation of the discharge bundle may result from this study protocol."

Implementation of a Transfer Intervention Procedure (TIP) to improve handovers from hospital to home: interrupted time series analysis
R van Seben, SE Geerlings, KJM Verhaegh, CGJM Hilders, BM Buurman
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:479

Read more here.

Bringing hospital-level care to the patient

"This case study is one in an ongoing series examining programs that aim to improve outcomes and reduce costs of care for patients with complex needs, who account for a large share of U.S. health care spending."

The hospital at home model: Bringing hospital-level care to the patient
S Klein, M Hostetter, D McCarthy
The Commonwealth Fund
August 2016

Read more here.

Strengthening population health intervention

"Much of the research and theorising in the knowledge translation (KT) field has focused on clinical settings, providing little guidance to those working in community settings. In this study, we build on previous research in community-based KT by detailing the theory driven and empirically-informed CollaboraKTion framework."

Strengthening population health intervention: developing the CollaboraKTion Framework for community-based knowledge translation
EK Jenkins, A Kothari, V Bungay, JL Johnson, JL Oliffe
Health Research Policy and Systems, 2016, 14:65

Read more here.

Quality assessments for cancer centers in the European Union

"The need for assessments in cancer centers is increasing. To improve efforts in the quality of research and patient care and to prevent new assessments that “reinvent the wheel”, it is advised to start comparative research into the assessments that are likely to bring patient benefits and improve patient outcome."

Quality assessments for cancer centers in the European Union
A Wind, A Rajan, WH van Harten
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:474

Read more here.

Contextualizing learning to improve care using collaborative communities of practices

"Study findings offer insights into collaborative, inter-organizational community of practice learning approaches to build quality improvement capabilities amongst clinicians, staff, and managers. In particular, our study delineates the need to contextualize QI learning by using deliberate learning activities to balance systematic and structured approaches alongside pragmatic and accommodating approaches with expert mentors."

Contextualizing learning to improve care using collaborative communities of practices
L Jeffs, J McShane, V Flintoft, P White, A Indar, M Maione, AJ Lopez, S Bookey-Bassett, L Scavuzzo
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:464

Read more here.

Multidisciplinary team-led community case management programme

"This study has identified that a programme of MDT-led case management was generally very well received by patients and their families."

Patients’ experiences of a multidisciplinary team-led community case management programme: a qualitative study
A Gowing, C Dickinson, T Gorman, L Robinson, R Duncan
BMJ Open, 2016, 6:e012019

Read more here.

Incentive-driven commissioning for improved oral health in primary dental care

"This is the first UK study to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a blended contract in primary care dentistry."

Shaping dental contract reform: a clinical and cost-effective analysis of incentive-driven commissioning for improved oral health in primary dental care
C Hulme, PG Robinson, EC Saloniki, K Vinall-Collier, PD Baxter, G Douglas, B Gibson, JH Godson, D Meads, SH Pavitt
BMJ Open, 2016,6:e013549

Read more here.

Embedding research in health systems: lessons from complexity theory

"We argue for the need to study how micro-processes of organisational dynamics may give rise to macro patterns of behaviour and strategic organisational direction and for the use of systems approaches to investigate the emergent properties of health research systems."

Embedding research in health systems: lessons from complexity theory
L Caffrey, C Wolfe, C McKevitt
Health Research Policy and Systems, 2016, 14:54

Read more here.

Is bigger better? Lessons for large-scale general practice

"Traditional general practice is changing. Three-quarters of practices are now working collaboratively in larger-scale organisations – albeit with varying degrees of ambition. Policy-makers and practitioners have high hopes for these organisations and their potential to transform services both within primary care and beyond. But can we be confident that they can live up to these expectations? This research summary presents the key findings from a 15-month study of large-scale general practice organisations in England. It was informed by an extensive literature review, and combined national surveys with in-depth case studies of contrasting, largescale general practice organisations and analysis of 15 quality indicators."

Is bigger better? Lessons for large-scale general practice
R Rosen, S Kumpunen, N Curry, A Davies, L Pettigrew, L Kossarova
Nuffield Trust
July 2016

Read more here.

Care provision fit for a future climate

"This report reviews existing evidence and presents primary research in four case study care settings (two residential and two extra care) in England to assess the risks of summertime overheating, and investigate the preparedness of the care settings, both now and in the future."

Care provision fit for a future climate
R Gupta, G Walker, A Lewis, L Barnfield, M Gregg, L Neven
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
May 2016

Read more here.

Outpatient services and primary care

"In developing new models of care for the NHS, it should not be assumed that community-based care will be cheaper than conventional hospital-based care. Possible reasons care in the community may be more expensive include supply-induced demand and addressing unmet need through new forms of care and through loss of efficiency gained from concentrating services in hospitals. Evidence from this study suggests that further shifts of care into the community can be justified only if (a) high value is given to patient convenience in relation to NHS costs or (b) community care can be provided in a way that reduces overall health-care costs."

Outpatient services and primary care: Scoping review, substudies and international comparisons
E Winpenny, C Miani, E Pitchforth, S Ball, E Nolte, S King, J Greenhalgh, M Roland
Health Services and Delivery Research, 2016, 4(15)

Read more here.

Case study: Strategic quality improvement: An action learning approach

"Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is an established, high-performing organisation, which was already investing in a culture of continuous improvement of quality. Its willingness to embark on this action learning process reinforces its commitment to being a learning organisation. We believe that through sharing this case study and the action learning process we co-created with Oxleas other NHS organisations can gain insight into their own approaches to quality improvement."

Strategic quality improvement: An action learning approach
V Nath
The King's Fund
May 2016

Read more here.

Gardens and health: Implications for policy and practice

"This report looks at the impact of gardens and gardening on health and wellbeing, and explores what the NHS and the wider health and social care system can do to maximise this impact."

Gardens and health: Implications for policy and practice
D Buck
The King's Fund
May 2016

Read more here.

A review of NICE methods across health technology assessment programmes

"Although several differences between these NICE HTA programmes have been found, there are justifications for many of these differences and how they have evolved is apparent, particularly in terms of making sure methods and processes are practicable and relevant to the value proposition of the health technology under consideration."

A review of NICE methods across health technology assessment programmes: Differences, justifications and implications
E Brockis, G Marsden, A Cole, N Devlin
Office of Health Economics
April 2016

Read more here.

How to use patient feedback more effectively to improve services

"These presentations are from the King's Fund one-day event, which looked at information currently collected from patient surveys. It explored the key messages that can be drawn from the data and looked at how health care professionals can use these messages to drive service improvement."

How to use patient feedback more effectively to improve services
The King's Fund
April 2016

View the presentations here.

The journey to integration: Learning from seven leading localities

"The LGA has long advocated the benefits of integrated, person-centred care as a key vehicle to improve people’s health and wellbeing and experience of care, alongside bringing financial sustainability to the health and care system. The findings in this report highlight how through determined collective and collaborative leadership which engages and empowers everyone in their locality, it is possible to make great strides towards these outcomes. I hope this report informs and inspires us all to achieve the step change our communities deserve."

The journey to integration: Learning from seven leading localities
B Richardson - Carnall Farrar
Local Government Association
April 2016

Read more here.

Focus on: Public health and prevention

"This QualityWatch report provides an overview of public health outcomes in recent years, examining  trends in 20 indicators across sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV, substance misuse, smoking, childhood obesity and immunisations."

QualityWatch: Focus on: Public health and prevention: Has the quality of services changed over recent years?
A Davies, E Keeble, T Bhatia, E Fisher
The Health Foundation, Nuffield Trust
April 2016

Read more here.

Key principles of effective prevention education

"This report summarises research into effective pedagogical principles in the field of school-based preventative education (across a range of behaviours including drug and alcohol use, healthy eating, physical activity and sexual activity) as well as school-based programmes to build skills and attributes associated with reduced risk-taking behaviour (including social and emotional skills, and resilience)."

Key principles of effective prevention education
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)
April 2016

Read more here.

Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions

"The additional cost pressure represented by a new NICE Technology Appraisals is likely to be accommodated at least partly by greater efficiency and increased expenditure rather than displacement of services."

Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions: a qualitative study from Wales
S Karlsberg Schaffer, J Sussex, D Hughes, N Devlin
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:103

Read more here.

The evolution of devolution in the English NHS

"This report considers the potential implications for health and care outcomes of health care devolution in England and how policy could best evolve. While the wider devolution agenda includes many public services, which could all have an impact on health outcomes, the focus of this report is primarily on devolution in the NHS."

Catalyst or distraction? The evolution of devolution in the English NHS
F Dormon, H Butcher, R Taunt
The Health Foundation
April 2016

Read more here.

Digital requirements for new primary care models

"This briefing sets out some emerging trends in primary care and describes how technology can be employed to support them."

Digital requirements for new primary care models: A briefing for clinicians and managers
S Castle-Clarke, S Kumpunen, S Machaqueiro, N Curry, C Imison
Nuffield Trust
April 2016

Read more here.

How do junior medical officers use online information resources?

"Junior medical officers strongly rely upon online clinical information in their everyday practice. Importantly, provision of these resources assists JMOs in their education and clinical performance."

How do junior medical officers use online information resources? A survey
HT Chong, MJ Weightman, P Sirichai, A Jones
BMC Medical Education, 2016, 16:120

Read more here.

Privatisation and independent sector provision of NHS healthcare

"The British Medical Association’s first report on privatisation in the health service is published today and calls for Government and health bosses to implement a series of recommendations aimed at protecting the NHS from being destabilised."

Privatisation and independent sector provision of NHS healthcare
British Medical Association
April 2016

Read more here.

Sustainability of knowledge translation interventions in healthcare decision-making

"We found few studies focusing on the sustainability of KT interventions. Most of the included studies focused on patient-level outcomes and patient-level KT interventions. A future systematic review can be conducted of the RCTs to examine the impact of sustainable KT interventions on health outcomes."

Sustainability of knowledge translation interventions in healthcare decision-making: a scoping review
AC Tricco, et al.
Implementation Science, 2016, 11:55

Read  more here.

Features of computer-based decision aids

"The systematic review and thematic synthesis identified features that have been integrated into available computer-based decision aids, in an effort to facilitate reporting of these features and to promote integration of such features into decision aids."

Features of computer-based decision aids: Systematic review, thematic synthesis, and meta-analyses
A Syrowatka, D Kromker, AN Meguerditchian, R Tamblyn
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2016, 18(1):20

Read more here.

Emergency general surgery: Challenges and opportunities

"The Nuffield Trust was commissioned by The Royal College of Surgeons of England to explore the challenges facing emergency general surgery (EGS) and to identify opportunities to overcome those challenges."

Emergency general surgery: Challenges and opportunities
R Watson, H Crump, C Imison, C Currie, M Gaskins
Nuffield Trust
April 2016

Read more here.

Commissioning person centred care for people affected by cancer

"This guidance is intended to support commissioners and strategic clinical networks to take the actions necessary to drive improved outcomes for person centred care through cancer commissioning. It describes tested interventions that NHS England expects to be in place to meet the needs of people affected by cancer."

Commissioning person centred care for people affected by cancer
NHS England
April 2016

Read more here.

Prescribing safety in UK general practice

"A cross-sectional study of patients from more than 500 UK general practices found high variation in potentially high-risk prescribing and provision of monitoring tests."

Prescribing safety in UK general practice
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
April 2016

Read more here.

The “Handling” of power in the physician-patient encounter

"Based on the insights, the authors suggest that physicians learn to enact ethical patient-centered therapeutic communication through reflective, effective, and professional use of power in clinical encounters."

The “Handling” of power in the physician-patient encounter: perceptions from experienced physicians
L Nimmon, T Stenfors-Hayes
BMC Medical Education, 2016, 16:114

Read more here.

Healthy lives, healthy people: A public health workforce strategy

"The strategy sets out actions for various partners in the new public health system to support and develop the public health workforce. It will help embed public health capacity within the wider workforce to support delivery of the public health outcomes framework."

Healthy lives, healthy people: A public health workforce strategy
Department of Health, Health Education England and Public Health England
April 2016

Read more here.

Researching effective approaches to cleaning in hospitals

"The study uses the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (iPARIHS) framework to support the tailored implementation of the environmental cleaning bundle in each hospital."

Researching effective approaches to cleaning in hospitals: protocol of the REACH study, a multi-site stepped-wedge randomised trial
L Hall, et al.
Implementation Science, 2016, 11:44

Read more here.

Achieving change in primary care—causes of the evidence to practice gap

"This comprehensive review of reviews summarises current knowledge on the barriers and facilitators to implementation of diverse complex interventions in primary care."

Achieving change in primary care—causes of the evidence to practice gap: systematic reviews of reviews
R Lau, et al.
Implementation Science, 016, 11:40

Read more here.

Discharge planning: Best practice in transitions of care

"The report seeks to provide key recommendations that contribute to an improved discharge experience for patients, carers and their families, and identifies examples of effective discharge planning."

Discharge planning: Best practice in transitions of care
The Queen's Nursing Institute
2016

Read more here.

Patient care: A unified approach: A case study report

"This report highlights case studies that exemplify how integration between GPs and physicians can be achieved. The case studies span a wide range of services in England and Wales, and cover a variety of learning points involving different specialties, different population groups and different ways of addressing complex issues. This report has been compiled to share learning from successful examples of integration, and to encourage GPs and physicians to reflect on their own practice."

Patient care: A unified approach: A case study report
Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of General Practitioners
March 2016

Read more here.

Enhancing evidence informed policymaking in complex health systems

"In developing and supporting evidence-to-policy interventions, due consideration should be given to fit-for-purpose approaches, as different needs in policymaking cycles require adapted processes and knowledge. Greater consideration should be provided to approaches embedding the use of research in real-world policymaking, better suited to the complex adaptive nature of health systems."

Enhancing evidence informed policymaking in complex health systems: lessons from multi-site collaborative approaches
EV Langlois, V Becerril Monteklo, T Young, K Song,  Alcalde-Rabanal, N Tran
Health Research Policy and Systems, 2016, 14:20

Read more here.

Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions

"All health care systems face the need to find the resources to meet new demands such as a new, cost-increasing health technology."

Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions: A qualitative study from Wales
S Karlsberg Schaffer, J Sussex, D Hughes, N Devlin
BMC Health Searches Research, 2016

Read more here.

Bringing together physical and mental health: A new frontier for integrated care

"The report identifies 10 areas where there is particular scope for improvement. These span the full range of health system activities, illustrating that change is needed across the system. Commissioners and providers can use these 10 areas as a guide to identify where some of the most significant opportunities for quality improvement and cost control lie."

Bringing together physical and mental health: A new frontier for integrated care
C Naylor, P Das, S Ross, M Honeyman, J Thompson, H Gilburt
The King's Fund
March 2016

Read more here.

Six ways in which NHS financial pressures can affect patient care

"In The King’s Fund report Thinking about rationing, Rudolf Klein and Jo Maybin describe a useful framework for understanding the different ways in which access to high-quality care can be limited by commissioners and providers, building on earlier work by Roy Parker. Their typology outlines six ways in which patients can be affected by financial pressures and provides a useful means of examining what is happening in local health systems."

Six ways in which NHS financial pressures can affect patient care
R Robertson
The King's Fund
March 2016

Read more here.

Patterns of maternity care in English NHS trusts 2013/14

"This is the second report that the RCOG has published describing patterns of maternity care practice and outcomes within the English NHS using data routinely collected by NHS hospitals. The first report presented a set of clinically relevant and technically robust indicators, developed by a panel of clinical and methodological experts. It revealed that NHS maternity units in England were achieving similar outcomes but that there were large degrees of variation in some areas of practice. This second edition revises and extends the suite of indicators, thereby aiming to improve the quality of information available to NHS maternity services to use for performance assessment and quality improvement."

Patterns of maternity care in English NHS trusts 2013/14
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists
March 2016

Read more here.

Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) in health care

"Conclusions: The IKT strategies that achieve beneficial outcomes remain unknown. We generated a summary of IKT approaches, enablers, barriers, conditions, and outcomes that can serve as the basis for a future review or for planning ongoing primary research. Future research can contribute to three identified knowledge gaps by examining (1) how different IKT strategies influence outcomes, (2) the relationship between the logic or theory underlying IKT interventions and beneficial outcomes, and (3) when and how decision-makers should be involved in the research process. Future IKT initiatives should more systematically plan and document their design and implementation, and evaluations should report the findings with sufficient detail to reveal how IKT was associated with outcomes."

Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) in health care: a scoping review
AR Gagliardi, W Berta, A Kothari, J Boyko, R Urquhart
Implementation Science, 2016, 11:38

Read more here.

Improving the quality and safety of patient care

"This brochure outlines some of the initiatives the UK is currently pursuing, and the organisations which are leading the way in standards of safety. The different sections also provide information on the partners who can best help you achieve your goal of safer, better healthcare."

Improving the quality and safety of patient care
Department of Health
March 2016

Read more here.

The ongoing saga of randomised trials in quality improvement

"There is much debate within the improvement field about the value of RCTs in determining the effectiveness of improvement interventions."

To RCT or not to RCT? The ongoing saga of randomised trials in quality improvement
G Parry, M Power
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2016, 25:221-3

Read more here.

Improving quality in the English NHS: A strategy for action

"Improvements in the quality of care do not occur by chance. They come from the
intentional actions of staff equipped with the skills needed to bring about changes in care, directly and constantly supported by leaders at all levels. They do not come free and will require a substantial and sustained commitment of time and resources."

Improving quality in the English NHS: A strategy for action
C Ham, D Berwick, J Dixon
The King's Fund
February 2016

Read more here.

Health and wellbeing boards: Engaging effectively with providers

"This briefing has been jointly produced by the Local Government Association (LGA), NHS Providers and Monitor to provide case studies that offer a snapshot of how HWBs are using different mechanisms to engage with local providers to develop system-wide approaches, join up the strategic commissioning of health and care, take a holistic place-based approach to prevention, and develop a shared local vision for local health and care services expressed through their Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (JWHS)."

Health and wellbeing boards: Engaging effectively with providers
Local Government Association, NHS Providers, Monitor
February 2016

Read more here.

Collaborative research and the co-production of knowledge for practice

"In our view, the theory of co-production provides useful insights into what it is about the qualities of collaborative working that inspire the requisite mechanisms for generating knowledge that is translated into practice. The theory provides a potentially useful basis for future knowledge translation programmes and projects in applied health research in a range of contexts."

Collaborative research and the co-production of knowledge for practice: an illustrative case study
J Heaton, J Day, N Britten
Implementation Science, 2016, 11:20

Read more here.

At the heart of health: Realising the value of people and communities

"This report explores the value of people and communities at the heart of health, in support of the NHS Five Year Forward View vision to develop a new relationship with people and communities."

At the heart of health: Realising the value of people and communities
NESTA
February 2016

Read more here.

Monitoring change in health care through statistical process control methods

"The family of approaches known as statistical process control (SPC) have been widely used for monitoring outcomes in industry and have gained acceptance in many health care settings: usually within an organisation or clinical pathway. However, they are less commonly applied to look at population level changes across organisations: the changes we now see emerging in new models of care. Moreover, SPC methods can be applied to looking at some of the measures (such as changes in emergency admissions) that are commonly used to monitor major programmes of organisational change as seen in, for example, new models of integrated care or the Vanguards."

Monitoring change in health care through statistical process control methods
C Sherlaw-Johnson, M Bardsley
Nuffield Trust
January 2016

Read more here.

Swimming ‘upstream’ to tackle the social determinants of health

"The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of a Health Leads intervention in two urban adult primary care practices. Social needs were identified and then addressed by advocates based in the practices. They found that 15% of patients seen had an unmet resource need, most commonly food insecurity or a health resource need such as difficulty obtaining health insurance or affording medications. Patients with unmet resource needs were less healthy, had more ‘no-show’ appointments, more emergency department visits and were less likely to meet care targets."

Swimming ‘upstream’ to tackle the social determinants of health
T Kiran, AD Pinto
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2016, 25:138-140

Read more here.

The problem with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles

"To be successful, the use of PDSA must be supported by a significant investment in leadership, expertise and resources for change."

The problem with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles
JE Reed, AJ Card
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2016, 25:147-52

Read more here.

Addressing basic resource needs to improve primary care quality

"Difficulty affording healthcare and food are particularly common needs among patients with priority conditions. Strategies to identify and address unmet needs as part of routine care may be an important way to improve healthcare quality."

Addressing basic resource needs to improve primary care quality: a community collaboration programme
SA Berkowitz, et al
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2016, 25:164-72

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Implementing the Forward View: Supporting providers to deliver

"This document is designed for NHS provider organisations. It is part of a series of roadmaps that draw on messages from the NHS Planning Guidance and set out the key priorities for specific audiences that are responsible for delivering high quality health and care this year and beyond."

Implementing the Forward View: Supporting providers to deliver
NHS Improvement in collaboration with a range of provider leaders, NHS Providers, NHS Confederation, NHS Clinical Commissioners, NHS Partners and the Local Government Association.
February 2016

Read more here.

Delivering the benefits of digital health care

"This report sets out the possibilities to transform health care offered by digital technologies, with important insight about how to grasp those possibilities and benefits from those furthest on in their digital journey."

Delivering the benefits of digital health care
C Imison, S Castle-Clarke, R Watson, N Edwards
Nuffield Trust
February 2016

Read more here.

Higher quality dementia care

In a programme of 3 linked studies, we investigated the impact of the QOF dementia review on the quality of care received by those with dementia, focusing particularly on the interface between primary and secondary care. We asked whether GP practices that Higher Quality Dementia Care
review comparatively more of their patients have:

• fewer emergency hospital admissions
• shorter stays for those who are hospitalised
• lower risk of discharge to a care home following hospitalisation

The research used several linked large datasets analysing data for a 5 year period relating to all GP practices in England for patients with dementia, involving around 230,00 patients. Advanced statistical methods were employed in order to ensure other factors that can influence outcomes were taken into account.

Higher quality dementia care
Centre for Health Economics
February 2016

Read more here.

Commonwealth Fund's 2015 international survey of general practitioners

"Every three years, the US-based Commonwealth Fund coordinates a survey of general practitioners (GPs) and primary care physicians across 11 countries. This report provides UK-focused analysis by the Health Foundation of the 2015 survey, which included several UK-specific questions funded by the Health Foundation. The report centres on three topics of particular interest: GP satisfaction, care coordination and use of electronic medical records."

Under pressure: What the Commonwealth Fund’s 2015 international survey of general practitioners means for the UK
S Martin, E Davies, B Gershlick
The Health Foundation
February 2016

Read more here.

Taking a participatory approach to development and better health

"This publication documents the experiences of participatory approaches taken by Region Skåne (Sweden) and three case studies: the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy), the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain) and Wales (United Kingdom)."

Taking a participatory approach to development and better health: Examples from the regions for health network
World Health Organization
2015

Read more here.

Why now is the time to tackle obesity in Britain

"We need to shift the focus from weight to well-being – to children being able to enjoy a full life of enjoyable activity – and to target resources at those most in need – ill-nourished children and the morbidly obese. An obvious source of revenue are nutritionally valueless soft drinks, which are the largest single source of sugar for children aged 11 to 18 years and provide this age group on average with 29% of daily sugar intake."

Britain imbalanced: Why now is the time to tackle obesity in Britain
J Cracknell
Policy Exchange
2016

Read more here.

Unwarranted variations

"This review looked at productivity and efficiency in English non-specialist acute hospitals, which account for half of the total health budget, using a series of metrics and benchmarks to enable comparison. We conclude that there is significant unwarranted variation across all of the main resource areas, and although we found many examples of good practice, no one hospital is good at everything."

Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations: An independent report for the Department of Health
Lord Carter of Coles
Department of Health
February 2016

Read more here.

Public satisfaction with the NHS in 2015

"Overall public satisfaction with the NHS fell by 5 percentage points in 2015 to 60 per cent. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the service rose by 8 percentage points to 23 per cent, taking dissatisfaction back to the levels reported between 2011 and 2013."

Public satisfaction with the NHS in 2015: Results and trends from the British Social Attitudes survey
J Appleby, R Robertson
The King's Fund
February 2016

Read more here.

The future of child health services: new models of care

"Different services and models of care for children and young people have been emerging around the UK, both within the Vanguard scheme and inspired by it. These models are emerging in response to a series of problems in current services for children and young people. This briefing describes the current state of child health and quality of care in the UK and how the emerging models are responding to these issues."

The future of child health services: new models of care
L Kossarova, D Devakumar, N Edwards
The King's Fund
February 2016

Read more here.

Higher quality dementia care

"In a programme of 3 linked studies, we investigated the impact of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) dementia review on the quality of care received by those with dementia, focusing particularly on the interface between primary and secondary care."

Higher quality dementia care
Centre for Health Economics, University of York
February 2016

Read more here.

Quality standard for people with sight loss and dementia

"Patients with dementia can benefit from being identified in advance of attending their appointment; staff who have specific training around dementia; and, being provided with support to participate in decisions about care."

Quality standard for people with sight loss and dementia in an ophthalmology department
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
December 2015

Read more here.

Health inequality and the A&E crisis

"Reducing healthcare inequality is a matter of social justice. It is also a matter of common sense, when the NHS is under such severe pressure from preventable emergencies arising from social inequality."

Health inequality and the A&E crisis
Centre for Health Economics, University of York
January 2016

Read more here.

Reducing preventable harm in hospitals

"Sometimes small details can make a huge difference. One of the easiest ways to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia, a major cause of death, is to put a piece of tape on the wall as a reminder to raise a patient’s bed to the correct angle."

This is part 1 of a two-part series.

Reducing preventable harm in hospitals
D Bornstein
New York Times, January 26, 2016

Read more here.

Accident and emergency attendances in England - 2014-15

"This is a report on Accident and Emergency (A&E) activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS-commissioned activity in the independent sector."

Accident and emergency attendances in England - 2014-15
Health & Social Care Information Centre
January 28, 2016

Read more here.

Preferences for engagement in health technology assessment decision-making

"Members of the public considered value, impact, uncertainty, equity and transparency in determining when engagement should be undertaken."

Preferences for engagement in health technology assessment decision-making: a nominal group technique with members of the public
S Wortley, A Tong, K Howard
BMJ Open, 2016, 6:e010265

Read more here.

Consultation on specialised services clinical commissioning policies and service specifications

"NHS England has today (28 January 2016) launched a 30 day public consultation on a proposed number of new products for specialised services, (including service specifications and clinical commissioning policies)."

Find out more here.

Behavioural insights and health: case studies

"..... there is a variety of ways that people can be supported to make better choices. Councils are demonstrating this through the way they are making use of behavioural insights to improve health. From exploiting digital technologies to stressing social norms in a bid to encourage people to make lifestyle changes, local authorities have started using behavioural insights to make a difference to people’s lives."

Behavioural insights and health: case studies
Local Government Association
January 2016

Read more here.

Smarter use of technology and data supports city devolution

"City devolution offers to give local areas the powers they require to address local needs and play to local strengths. Smart cities offer to bring cutting-edge technology to help cities cope with growing pressure on public services, transport, infrastructure and energy. But cities will need both things."

Smart devolution: Why smarter use of technology and data are vital to the success of city devolution
C Scott, E Copeland
Policy Exchange
January 2016

Read more here.

The NHS Health Check in England: an evaluation of the first 4 years

"NHS Health Check coverage was lower than expected but showed year-on-year improvement. Newly identified comorbidities were an important feature of the NHS Health Checks. Statin treatment at national scale for 1 in 5 attendees at highest CVD risk is likely to have contributed to important reductions in their CVD events."

The NHS Health Check in England: an evaluation of the first 4 years
J Robson, et al.
BMJ Open, 2016, 6:e008840

Read more here.

Evidence-informed health policy

"Our measure assesses a broad range of capacity domains and identifies the relative importance of these capacities. ORACLe data can be used by organisations keen to increase their use of evidence to identify areas for further development."

The development of ORACLe: a measure of an organisation’s capacity to engage in evidence-informed health policy
SR Makkar, et al.
Health Research Policy and Systems, 2016, 14:4

Read more here.

Using data to improve dementia care in England

Public Health England has published a new Dementia Profile, providing access to local authority and CCG level data across the whole dementia care pathway.

Using data to improve dementia care in England
Public Health England
12 January 2016

Read more here.