Table 3

Details of self-reported change to practice (n=496)

Characteristics of practice change	n	%
Workplace*
Emergency department	89	21.2
Intensive care unit	42	10.0
Operating theatre	51	12.2
Inpatient ward	146	34.8
Outpatient unit primary care	47	11.2
Residential aged care facility	119	28.4
Other	92	22.0
Who was involved in the practice change?*
One discipline group (eg, doctors only)	157	37.5
Two discipline groups (eg, doctors and nurses)	188	44.9
Three discipline groups (eg, doctors, nurses and pharmacists)	48	11.5
Four or more discipline groups	38	9.1
Practice change was related to:*
Education and training	286	68.3
Policy, procedures and protocols	182	43.4
Clinical practice	283	67.5
Evaluation of care	142	33.9
Documentation of practice	205	48.9
Improving staff morale/attitude	122	29.1
Environment/equipment	65	15.5
Edition of the Clinical Communiqué which influenced practice change*
‘Communiqué cases and the National Health Service Standards’	124	29.6
‘Recognising early warning signs of the deteriorating patient’	341	81.4
‘Communication and decision making at the bedside’	253	60.4
‘Responding as a team to medical emergency’	191	45.6
The practice change had an impact on:*
Patient care	339	80.9
Staff	380	90.7
Environment	215	51.3
Organisation	268	64.0
The action taken in the practice change was to:*
Introduce a new initiative	71	16.9
Alter or modify an existing initiative	382	91.2
Discontinue an existing initiative	24	5.7
Number of initiatives where the Clinical Communiqué was used to change practice*
1	151	36.0
2	175	41.8
3	63	15.0
4	12	2.9
5 or more	19	4.5
Degree to which the Clinical Communiqué influenced practice change*,†
Selecting area of improvement	306	73.0
Defining the scope of the project	173	41.3
Engaging senior management	189	45.1
Engaging point of care staff	276	65.9
Identifying required resources	203	48.5
Setting project timelines	76	18.1
Gathering background research/analysis	227	54.2
The Clinical Communiqué influenced practice change:*,‡
By raising awareness of an issue	409	97.6
By engaging staff	354	84.5
Because of the authority of the publication	310	74.0
By suggesting improvement strategies	359	85.7
By prompting staff to evaluate their existing practice	369	88.1
If the Clinical Communiqué had not been available, the change would have:*^,‡
Happened anyway	129	30.8
Taken longer	347	82.8
Happened on a smaller scale	236	56.3
Not occurred	109	26.0

* Seventy-seven respondents failed to answer this question and were excluded from analysis (n=419).
† Five-point Likert scale, 5=strongly agree to 1=strongly disagree. Positive responses are counted as the sum of responses that stated ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’.
‡ Five-point Likert scale, 5=extremely influential to 1=not at all influential. Positive responses are counted as the sum of responses that stated ‘extremely influential’ and ‘very influential’.