Time to get moving: Evaluation of an evidence-based, multicomponent tailored intervention on hospital mobility.

This study is a prospective, multisite pre-post hybrid study which will evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a co-designed mobility improvement strategy. The mobility improvement strategy will be co-designed by a health service Multi-professional Mobility Improvement Collaborative. Consumers, clinicians (nurses, medical staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists), managers and support staff from across 4 hospitals in the health service will be invited to join this collaborative. Three meetings will be scheduled to present the background to the project and information regarding the consequences of hospital associated functional decline. The group will be asked to nominate priorities for improvement after which time working groups will be formed to pursue this work. These smaller worker groups will then meet monthly to co-design and seek agreement about specific strategies pertaining to the working group's purpose. It is anticipated that 4 months will be required to develop these strategies. Once agreed, strategies will be implemented across the 10 participating wards. Examples of potential strategies may include: development of a policy to facilitate inpatient mobility, modifications to documentation and communication processes, interprofessional education and training. Whilst many strategies will be relevant across all participating wards, local ward level strategies may also be encouraged. Examples of these include education and local support to improve storage and equipment maintenance. The implementation phase will be overseen and supported by the project team and co-ordinated by the Project Officer. Successful uptake of the mobility strategy will be facilitated through broad multi-professional engagement which has been undertaken at all sites, use of key management stakeholders as champions, through existing facilitators already embedded within clinical settings as part of a delirium prevention program (Eat Walk Engage Program), and through the established professional networks of our investigator group. Champions and existing facilitators will assist by developing educational resources, contributing to policy development and through dissemination of marketing strategies to promote mobility practices. As these champions are positioned within the work unit, they will have local influence to disseminate information to colleagues on respective wards. We anticipate evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention 12 months post implementation. Data will be collected pre and post implementation to determine effectiveness of the intervention.