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

Overview

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.

Interventions

• Behavioral Leadership and organizational change for implementation
  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.

Primary outcome measures

• Acceptability [Time frame: 3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)]
• Appropriateness [Time frame: 3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)]
• Feasibility of intervention [Time frame: 3months after start of intervention, 9 months (end of intervention)]

Secondary outcome measures (4)

• Effectiveness to implementation leadership [Time frame: Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up]
• Effectiveness to transformational leadership [Time frame: Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up]
• Effectiveness to implementation climate [Time frame: Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up]
• Effectiveness to evidence-based practice attitudes [Time frame: Baseline, 3month, 8months, 3 month follow-up]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

• Other healtcare professionals

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Health services research

Study locations

Finland · 1 center

• The Wellbeing Services Country of Southwest Finland — Turku

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07378696 · TY/1603/2025

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗