Implementing Evidence-Based Nursing: Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation

NCT07378696 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: TY/1603/2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to find out whether a leadership and organizational development program called the LOCI (Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation) strategy can help nurses and their managers use the best available research in everyday care. Using evidence-based practice. Previous work in the region showed that nurses and their managers want to use evidence-based practices but face challenges, such as unclear processes, limited support, and differences in skills. The LOCI strategy has helped leaders in other countries improve how new practices are introduced and supported. This study will test a version of LOCI adapted for Finnish healthcare settings. Nurse managers and staff from selected hospital and elder care units will: Take part in leadership and training sessions. Receive individual and group mentoring. Work with their teams on plans that support introducing new, research-based ways of working. Two evidence-based practices will be introduced: In psychiatric units: A safety planning method to help prevent suicide among people receiving mental health care. In elder care units: Better ways to identify and treat malnutrition among older adults. The study involves: Nurse managers Nursing staff Senior nurse leaders Specialist nurses who support the training The study will run for one year. The LOCI program lasts nine months, followed by a three-month follow-up period. Assessment: How well the adapted LOCI strategy works in practice (for example, whether participants find it useful). Whether leadership skills and workplace support for evidence-based practices improve. Whether the new care practices (suicide safety planning and malnutrition prevention) are used more often and more effectively. Participants will complete questionnaires, take part in interviews or group discussions, and researchers will review documentation and care records to understand how the changes progress. The study may help improve leadership skills, strengthen support for evidence-based practice, and improve care for patients in both mental health and elder care settings. The results may also help other healthcare organizations adopt similar approaches. The study follows strict ethical and data protection rules. Survey participation is voluntary, and all personal information will be handled securely and confidentially. The care practices being introduced are already recommended in Finland and are part of normal care.

Conditions

Leadership; Self-Harm; Malnutrition Elderly

Keywords

Implementation; Evidence-based practice; Nursing; Leadership

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Acceptability

  Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), 4-item, 5-point Likert Scale (1-5), Min score 5, Max score 20. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability.

  3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)

• Appropriateness

  Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), 4-item, 5-point Likert scale (1-5), Min score 5, Max score 20. Higher scores indicate greater appropriateness.

  3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)

• Feasibility of intervention

  Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM), 4-item, 5-point Likert scale (1-5), Min score 5, Xax score 20. Higher scores indicate greater feasibility.

  3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Effectiveness to implementation leadership

  Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up

• Effectiveness to transformational leadership

  Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up

• Effectiveness to implementation climate

  Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up

• Effectiveness to evidence-based practice attitudes

  Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up

Study Arms (1)

Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI)

EXPERIMENTAL

LOCI (Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation) is a structured leadership and organizational development strategy designed to help managers strengthen their skills in implementing evidence-based practices. It combines leadership training, individualized mentoring, and organizational support to create a workplace climate that makes it easier to adopt and sustain new, research-based ways of working.

Behavioral: Leadership and organizational change for implementation

Interventions

Leadership and organizational change for implementation BEHAVIORAL

LOCI (Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation) is a structured leadership and organizational development strategy designed to help managers strengthen their skills in implementing evidence-based practices. It combines leadership training, individualized mentoring, and organizational support to create a workplace climate that makes it easier to adopt and sustain new, research-based ways of working.

Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Nurse manager
• Registered nurse
• Practical nurse
• Nurse director

You may not qualify if:

• Other healtcare professionals

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jaakko Varpula: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Wellbeing Services Country of Southwest Finland

Turku, Finland

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Self-Injurious Behavior

Interventions

Leadership; Organizational Innovation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personnel Management; Organization and Administration; Health Services Administration

Study Officials

• Anna Axelin, Professor

  University of Turku, Department of Nursing Science

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Jaakko Varpula, PhD

CONTACT

+358442784794; jaheva@utu.fi

Riitta Askola, PhD

CONTACT

+358505715760; raasko@utu.fi

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Postdoctoral researcher

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 14, 2026
• First Posted: January 30, 2026
• Study Start: January 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Last Updated: February 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: Instrument-level IPD will be made available upon publication of the main study findings.
• Access Criteria: Researchers may request access by contacting the principal investigators. Data will be shared through a secure repository after approval of a brief data-use proposal and signing a data-use agreement.

Locations

FI (1)