Are Champions an Effective Strategy for Improving Knowledge Use and Outcomes in Healthcare Settings?

Abstract

The effectiveness of champions in increasing the use of innovations and improving outcomes across health care contexts is not well synthesized in the literature. A systematic review was conducted using the JBI systematic review method. A total of 35 studies (37 articles) were included in the review. The use of champions was related to improvements in system/facility use of innovations. However, the evidence pertaining to causal relationships between use of champions and use of innovations or outcomes is currently inconclusive according to the findings of systematic review. Key limitations of the included primary studies were the use of observational study designs (n = 28) and the lack of detailed description of the champion strategy (n = 26). Future studies that evaluate the effectiveness champions should:1) clearly describe the champion strategy in detail, 2) use experimental design in conjunction to process evaluation, 3) and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of deploying champions.