Middle managers’ role in quality improvement project implementation, are we all on the same page? – A review of current literature

Table 5 Search strategy

Search Concept A: Quality Improvement Implementation	Search Concept B: Patient Care Managers
Search terms • Quality Improvement (k) (sh) • Program Implementation (sh) • Innovation implementation (k) • Evidence based practice implementation (k) • Research utilization (k) • Practice guidelines (sh) (k) • Clinical practice guidelines (k)	Search terms • Unit manager (k) • Patient Care Manager (k) • Nurse Managers (sh) (k) • Ward manager (k) • Nursing management (sh)(k) • Middle manager (k) • Middle Management (k) • Frontline manager (k) • Leadership (k)(sh) • Nursing administration (k) (sh) • Nursing administrators (k) • Nurse administrators (k) Clinical nurse leaders not searched as do not hold administrative responsibilities.

• K denotes keyword, SH denotes subject heading
• Boolean “or” was used within each of the two search concepts. Final results were captured by combining the categories using “and”
• Limited to peer reviewed articles in an electronic format, limited to the English language
Inclusion criteria:
(I) Description of middle management’s role and/or influence in the organization, specifically in relation to QI implementation
(II) Description of tasks, responsibilities and expectations of middle management
(III) Relationship between middle management’s involvement and QI implementation. Synonyms used to identify middle management in literature (as health regions are organized differently) included nursing leadership, frontline management, ward managers, unit managers, and patient care managers and nursing managers, nurse administrators and were captured with the search terms
(IV) Other synonyms used in the search for “QI implementation” included program implementation, innovation implementation, evidence based practice implementation, research utilization, and practice guidelines
Exclusion criteria:
• Clinical nurse leaders were not identified as being relevant in the search as per definition used in the study’s aim (i.e. do not normally administrative responsibilities)
Editorials and commentaries

ISSN: 2056-5917