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Australian Health Review Australian Health Review Society
Journal of the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Development of the ‘AusPROM’ recommendations for elective surgery patients

Natasha K. Brusco A B C , Paul S. Myles https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3324-5456 D , Victoria Atkinson A E , Jeffrey Woods A E , Anita Hodge A E , Cathy Jones https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2605-2576 A F , Damien Lloyd A E , Vincent Rovtar E , Amanda M. Clifford G , Tom Wood E and Meg E. Morris A H *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Academic and Research Collaborative in Health (ARCH), La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic., Australia.

B Alpha Crucis Group, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

C Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

D Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Alfred Hospital and Monash University Central Clinical School, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

E Healthscope Limited, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

F Cathy Jones Consulting, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

G School of Allied Health, Health Research Institute, Ageing Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

H Victorian Rehabilitation Centre, Healthscope Limited, Glen Waverley, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

* Correspondence to: M.Morris@latrobe.edu.au

Australian Health Review 46(5) 621-628 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22074
Submitted: 24 March 2022  Accepted: 12 June 2022   Published: 22 July 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.

Abstract

Objective Implementing the routine collection of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) is key to improving healthcare quality and patient satisfaction. The implementation process can be strengthened through staff and patient co-design. The aim of this project was to develop a set of Australian PROM implementation recommendations (‘AusPROM’) to guide rapid translation into practice.

Methods Staff working across 29 Australian private hospitals participated in the project. The hospitals provided elective surgery and spanned each state and territory of Australia. Staff engaged in a Delphi technique to develop the AusPROM, which involved three iterative focus groups. To ensure full disclosure, staff were also provided with additional project-related data sources throughout the Delphi technique. This included data from a patient focus group (patient co-design), patient survey, technical feasibility testing, 3 months of pilot testing (four sites), 3 months of national implementation (29 sites) and global evidence. This process ensured that staff and patient feedback was used to co-design the three iterations of the AusPROM recommendations until the final agreed version was established.

Results A total of 22 AusPROM recommendations were included in the final iteration. The recommendations covered the domains of PROM characteristics, healthcare organisation characteristics, external influences, staff and patient characteristics, and facilitators to implementing AusPROMS in routine practice.

Conclusion The AusPROM recommendations offer practical considerations for the implementation of PROMs in hospitals. The iterative nature of the Delphi technique ensured that staff and patient co-design were central to the development of the AusPROM recommendations.

Keywords: acceptability, co-design, consumer, Delphi technique, engagement, feasibility, implementation science, patient reported outcome measure (PROM), QoR-15, quality of recovery.


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