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Framework for capturing impact
The framework for capturing impact that was developed through the nurse consultant research project, and included in the toolkit, is outlined below. Further details are provided in the publications related to the project (see Outputs section). It is acknowledged in the toolkit that some indicators of impact might fit in more than one domain and that is appropriate to use the framework flexibly, for example locating the indicator of impact in the domain that best reflects the current emphasis:
Clinical significance
- Symptomatology - impact on an individual's return to normal functioning or experience of symptoms - i.e. physical or psychological outcomes for the patient and/or family carers.
- Quality of life and social wellbeing - impact on a patient's quality of life and self-efficacy, specifically how the individual's health needs affect activities of daily living and social wellbeing.
- Clinical social significance - clinically oriented outcomes that are important to society. Societal concerns are often translated into healthcare policy, e.g. health behaviour such as smoking cessation or the self-management of long term conditions.
- Clinical social validity - the social importance and acceptability of the patient or carer's experience of health care.
Professional significance
- Professional competence - developing the knowledge, skills, behaviour and attitudes of the healthcare workforce.
- Quality of working life - the impact on the healthcare workforce's quality of working life such as enhanced job satisfaction, motivation and fulfilment.
- Professional social significance - professionally oriented outcomes that are important to society. Societal concerns are often incorporated into healthcare policy e.g. redistribution of workload across professional boundaries.
- Professional social validity - the social importance and acceptability of the nurse consultants' activities for the healthcare workforce, such as promoting team working.
Organisational significance
- Organisational social significance - outcomes relating to the organisation and delivery of healthcare services and resources that are important to society. Societal concerns are often made explicit in healthcare policy. There are three subcategories relating to organisational social significance:
o Achievement of organisational priorities and targets, e.g. set by commissioners relating to hospital admission rates or length of stay.
o Development of policy - influence on local, regional and national development of policy.
o Generation of new knowledge - impact on the generation of new knowledge through involvement in research.