Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Nursing Times Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McLaren, S.
Right arrow Articles by Christian, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Leading opinion and managing change in complex organizations: Findings from the South Thames Evidence-based Practice project

Susan McLaren, BSc, PhD, RGN

Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, Kingston University, Kingston, Surrey

Fiona Ross, BSc, PhD, RGN

Nursing Research Unit, King's College London

Sally Redfern, BSc, PhD, RGN

King's College London

Sara Christian, BSc, RGN

Nursing Research Unit, King's College London

Opinion-leaders have been described in the research literature as credible experts, capable of supporting, facilitating or advocating change and influencing health professionals to adopt innovatory, evidence-based approaches to their practice (Lomas et al., 1991; Thomson et al., 1999). However, information is lacking on the complexity of selection and training, and of the role support that is necessary to enable opinion-leaders to function effectively. This paper focuses on the experience of using opinion-leaders to implement practice change as part of a multi-faceted approach within the South Thames Evidence-based Practice project (STEP), drawing on information integrated from a cross-case analysis and the independent evaluation. Key findings are that the opinion-leader role is complex and challenging, and requires a broad balance of research, management and leadership competences to inform selection and training.

Key Words: Opinion-leader • Training • Evidence-based practice

Nursing Times Research, Vol. 7, No. 6, 444-458 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/136140960200700606
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?