Assessing the scalability of innovations in primary care: a cross-sectional study

Article Figures & Tables

Table 1:

Description of innovations from 24 teams recruited for the Symposium on Innovations

Category of innovation according to the International Classification of Health Interventions^*		Scalability ranking; no. of innovations^†

Type	Subtype	High (10–16 criteria assessed)	Medium (4–9 criteria assessed)	Low (0–3 criteria assessed)	Total
Management, n = 15	Navigating	8	0	1	9

	Collaborating	1	2	1	4

	Prescription	1	1	0	2

Prevention, n = 8	Capacity building	2	1	3

	Public health surveillance	2	1	0	3

	Marshalling health services or health-related services	0	1	0	1

	Restrictions on advertising, promotion or sponsorship of products	1	0	0	1

Therapeutic, n = 1	Assisting or promoting exercise	1	0	0	1

Total		16	6	2	24

↵* We found no innovation in the other categories (e.g., diagnostic).
↵† Calculated using team responses to the Innovation Scalability Self-administered Questionnaire. (8)

Table 2:

Description of scalability criteria among 24 innovations

Assessment dimension (no. of criteria, arithmetic mean^* of the percentages of innovations that assessed the criteria of each dimension)	Criterion^†	No. (%) of innovations
	Criterion^†	Criterion assessed	Criterion not assessed	Criterion not applicable
Use of theory (1 criterion, 79.2%)	Innovations developed with theory	19 (79.2)	5 (20.8)	0
Impact assessments (6 criteria, 79.2%)	Acceptability	21 (87.5)	2 (8.3)	1 (4.2)
	Feasibility	21 (87.5)	2 (8.3)	1 (4.2)
	Efficacy^‡	19 (79.2)	4 (16.7)	1 (4.2)
	Adaptability	13 (54.2)	8 (33.3)	3 (12.5)
	Effectiveness	22 (91.7)	2 (8.3)	0
	Results documented	20 (83.3)	4 (16.7)	0
Cost assessments (2 criteria, 77.1%)	Cost-effectiveness^‡	16 (66.7)	7 (29.2)	1 (4.2)
Cost assessments (2 criteria, 77.1%)	Resources needed for the scaling up (affordability)	21 (87.5)	2 (8.3)	1 (4.2)
Setting assessments (3 criteria, 59.7%)	Implemented in setting comparable to target setting	14 (58.3)	10 (41.7)	0
	Compatibility with similar innovations in target settings^‡	11 (45.8)	11 (45.8)	2 (8.3)
	Consistency with policy directives	18 (75.0)	6 (25.0)	0
Coverage assessments (4 criteria, 54.2%)	Reach	11 (45.8)	9 (37.5)	4 (16.7)
	Adoption^‡	14 (58.3)	8 (33.3)	2 (8.3)
	Fidelity	6 (25.0)	16 (66.7)	2 (8.3)
	Maintenance	21 (87.5)	3 (12.5)	0

↵* Arithmetic mean = sum of the percentages of innovations that assessed the criteria in each dimension divided by the total number of criteria in that dimension, e.g., for the dimension coverage: 54.2% = (45.8% + 58.3% + 25.0% + 87.5%) ÷ 4.
↵† The assessment data come from the teams’ responses to the Innovation Scalability Self-administered Questionnaire. (8)
↵‡ Percentages in the row may add up to ± 100% because of rounding error.