Impact of a videoconferencing educational programme for the management of concurrent disorders on nurses’ competency development and clinical practice: protocol for a convergent mixed methods study

Abstract

IntroductionExtension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO©) is an innovative model for continuing professional development that uses videoconferencing technology to support and train general practitioners remotely. The model has been replicated to a variety of settings and locations for capacity building in healthcare professionals caring for patients with chronic and complex health conditions. Limited research has been conducted so far on the impact of ECHO in the field of concurrent mental health and substance use disorders (ie, concurrent disorders (CDs)). Therefore, this mixed methods study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of an ECHO programme impact for CD management on nurses’ competency development and clinical practice.Methods and analysisThe proposed mixed methods study, based on a convergent parallel design, will be conducted in the province of Quebec, Canada, to collect, analyse and interpret quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) data from a specific ECHO Program on CDs. In the QUAN component, an observational prospective cohort study will be conducted over a 12-month period. All nurses who participated in the programme between 2018 and 2020 and who consent to research will be recruited to collect data on the extent of their learning and practice outcomes at three time points. Alongside the surveys, nurses will be invited to participate in individual semistructured interviews. In-depth QUAL data will be subjected to a thematic analysis and will assist in exploring how and in which conditions nurses developed and mobilised their competencies in clinical practice. A comparison-of-results strategy will be used in the final integration component of the study.Ethics and disseminationThis study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Université de Montréal Hospital Center (#19.295) and the Université de Montréal Ethics Committee (CERSES-20–017 R). We aim to disseminate the findings through international academic conferences, international peer-reviewed journals and professional media.

Experiences and perceptions of nurses participating in an interprofessional, videoconference-based educational programme on concurrent mental health and substance use disorders: a qualitative study

“…This qualitative study was part of a larger mixed methods research project that sought to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of a Canadian ECHO programme for CD management on the competency development and clinical practice of nurses [ 35 ]. It was guided by the following two-fold research question: How did the nurses implement, in their clinical practice, the competencies they perceived as having developed through their participation in ECHO-CD, and what factors have influenced this process?…”

“…Table 1 describes ECHO-CD using the Guidelines for Reporting Evidence-based practice Educational interventions and Teaching (GREET) [ 44 ]. More details regarding the educational intervention can be found in the study protocol, which has been published elsewhere [ 35 ], or directly on the programme’s website ( https://ruisss.umontreal.ca/cectc/services/echo-troubles-concomitants/ ). This study collected data from the nurses who participated in one or more of the first 2 cycles of the programme (curricula for 2018–2019 and 2019–2020), thus during the programme’s implementation and expansion.…”

“…Specific learning objectives were applicable to all professional groups. An example of the specific learning objectives for the 2018–2019 curriculum can be found in the study protocol published elsewhere [ 35 ]. 4 EBP CONTENT Each session included a didactic presentation that consisted of a specific CD EBP topic.…”

Experiences and Perceptions of Nurses Participating in an Interprofessional, Videoconference-Based Educational Programme on Concurrent Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: A Qualitative Study

“…This qualitative study was part of a larger mixed methods research project that sought to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of a Canadian ECHO program for CD management on the competency development and clinical practice of nurses (35). Its aim was to explore their experiences and perceptions about the competencies they developed and mobilized in their clinical practice, and what factors have in uenced this process.…”

“…Learning objectives were applicable to all professional groups. An example of the learning objectives for the 2018-2019 curriculum can be found in the study protocol published elsewhere (35).…”