Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project

BackgroundSuicide prevention is currently a national health priority in Canada. Emergency departments (EDs) are critical settings for suicide prevention, and in our local psychiatric ED at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, we plan to embed an app-based tool called t...

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Main Authors: Hwayeon Danielle Shin, Juveria Zaheer, John Torous, Gillian Strudwick
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2023-11-01
Series:JMIR Research Protocols
Online Access:https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e50643
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author Hwayeon Danielle Shin
Juveria Zaheer
John Torous
Gillian Strudwick
author_facet Hwayeon Danielle Shin
Juveria Zaheer
John Torous
Gillian Strudwick
author_sort Hwayeon Danielle Shin
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundSuicide prevention is currently a national health priority in Canada. Emergency departments (EDs) are critical settings for suicide prevention, and in our local psychiatric ED at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, we plan to embed an app-based tool called the Hope app to support suicide safety planning intervention. The app is free and available on app stores, and usability tests have been completed. As a next step to embed this new tool into the routine clinical workflow, research is needed to assess determinants of and design strategies for implementation with the end goal of routinization. ObjectiveThe purpose of this 2-phased research is to implement the app in the routine clinical workflow in our local psychiatric ED. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) understanding ED clinicians’ perceptions and experience of implementing the app in routine practice and identifying barriers to and facilitators of implementation (phase 1) and (2) using findings and outputs from phase 1 and collaborating with service users, families, and ED clinicians to co-design implementation strategies for the app (phase 2). MethodsWe will use an integrated knowledge translation approach throughout this project. In phase 1, we will conduct interviews with ED clinicians to identify implementation determinants using a behavior change framework. In phase 2, a co-design team comprising clinicians, ED service users, and families will design implementation strategies that align with the determinants identified in phase 1. ResultsThis protocol presents detailed information about the entire structure of the 2-phased research project. Ethics approval for conducting the qualitative descriptive study (phase 1) has been obtained, and the recruitment and data collection processes will be completed no later than December 2023. Ethics approval for phase 2 is underway. ConclusionsInvolving multiple knowledge user groups early in the research and decision-making process is crucial for successful implementation. Although co-designing is commonly practiced during innovation development, there is often a misconception that the responsibility for implementing what has been designed falls on others. This research aims to fill this methodological gap in the health informatics literature. By the end of this project, we will have developed theory-informed implementation strategies to support Centre for Addiction and Mental Health ED clinicians in adopting the Hope app to complete safety planning intervention. These strategies, guided by a behavior change framework, will target clinicians’ behavior change and seamlessly integrate the app into the routine clinical workflow. In addition, this research project will provide recommendations on how to involve multiple knowledge user groups and offer insights into how the methodology used can be adapted to other areas within the health informatics literature. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/50643
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spelling doaj.art-f820db80702f4e789972c2e90208de0e2023-11-09T13:45:57ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482023-11-0112e5064310.2196/50643Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research ProjectHwayeon Danielle Shinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4037-4464Juveria Zaheerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5071-8078John Toroushttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5362-7937Gillian Strudwickhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1080-7372 BackgroundSuicide prevention is currently a national health priority in Canada. Emergency departments (EDs) are critical settings for suicide prevention, and in our local psychiatric ED at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, we plan to embed an app-based tool called the Hope app to support suicide safety planning intervention. The app is free and available on app stores, and usability tests have been completed. As a next step to embed this new tool into the routine clinical workflow, research is needed to assess determinants of and design strategies for implementation with the end goal of routinization. ObjectiveThe purpose of this 2-phased research is to implement the app in the routine clinical workflow in our local psychiatric ED. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) understanding ED clinicians’ perceptions and experience of implementing the app in routine practice and identifying barriers to and facilitators of implementation (phase 1) and (2) using findings and outputs from phase 1 and collaborating with service users, families, and ED clinicians to co-design implementation strategies for the app (phase 2). MethodsWe will use an integrated knowledge translation approach throughout this project. In phase 1, we will conduct interviews with ED clinicians to identify implementation determinants using a behavior change framework. In phase 2, a co-design team comprising clinicians, ED service users, and families will design implementation strategies that align with the determinants identified in phase 1. ResultsThis protocol presents detailed information about the entire structure of the 2-phased research project. Ethics approval for conducting the qualitative descriptive study (phase 1) has been obtained, and the recruitment and data collection processes will be completed no later than December 2023. Ethics approval for phase 2 is underway. ConclusionsInvolving multiple knowledge user groups early in the research and decision-making process is crucial for successful implementation. Although co-designing is commonly practiced during innovation development, there is often a misconception that the responsibility for implementing what has been designed falls on others. This research aims to fill this methodological gap in the health informatics literature. By the end of this project, we will have developed theory-informed implementation strategies to support Centre for Addiction and Mental Health ED clinicians in adopting the Hope app to complete safety planning intervention. These strategies, guided by a behavior change framework, will target clinicians’ behavior change and seamlessly integrate the app into the routine clinical workflow. In addition, this research project will provide recommendations on how to involve multiple knowledge user groups and offer insights into how the methodology used can be adapted to other areas within the health informatics literature. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/50643https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e50643
spellingShingle Hwayeon Danielle Shin
Juveria Zaheer
John Torous
Gillian Strudwick
Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
JMIR Research Protocols
title Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
title_full Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
title_fullStr Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
title_full_unstemmed Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
title_short Designing Implementation Strategies for a Digital Suicide Safety Planning Intervention in a Psychiatric Emergency Department: Protocol for a Multimethod Research Project
title_sort designing implementation strategies for a digital suicide safety planning intervention in a psychiatric emergency department protocol for a multimethod research project
url https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e50643
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