Background

Audit and feedback (A&F) is a widely used, effective intervention that can help healthcare systems improve how they implement guidance and research findings into clinical practice.

A&F is defined as any summary (written, electronic, or verbal) of clinical performance of healthcare provided over a specified period of time. It is evidence-based, scalable, and relatively inexpensive. But despite its widespread use, the science around how, when, and why A&F works best is still lacking.

Given A&F’s popularity, it’s important to explore how to maximise the success of A&F interventions and identify at what level in the healthcare system they should be directed. And one of the top research priorities about A&F (as identified by the international community) is to establish whether A&F is more effective if recipients are involved in the development of the feedback intervention through methods like co-design.

This project aims to address these international priorities and drive forward the science of A&F by looking at this popular intervention through the example of dental healthcare delivery.

Approach

This project will involve co-designing A&F interventions for antibiotic prescribing and fissure sealant placement with dental health professionals and pilot testing the co-designed A&F tools.

It will also involve interviews with directors and senior health intelligence staff across Scotland to explore the use of A&F at the organisational level for systems level change, including the level of current use of A&F at Scottish health board level, how it is enacted upon for systems level change, and the factors that influence its use and/or non-use.

Where existing A&F tools are in use at an organisational level, samples will be requested for a documentary analysis to clearly specify the current landscape of organisational A&F use in Scotland.

Eilidh gave a lightning talk about her research project at our 2020 annual event, THIS Space.

Watch further video clips here

What are the boundary conditions for audit and feedback?

‘You had to do something’: dental antibiotic prescribing challenges during COVID-19 and beyond

Journal articles

Channelling the force of audit and feedback: averting the dark side

You had to do something: prescribing antibiotics in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and remobilisation