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Background:

The problem of interest in this study is the challenge of consistent implementation of evidence-based infection prevention practices at the unit level, a challenge broadly characterized as “change implementation failure.” The theoretical literature suggests that periodic top-down communications promoting tacit knowledge exchanges across professional subgroups may be effective for enabling change in health care organizations. However, gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms by which top-down communications enable practice change at the unit level. Our study sought to both validate the theoretical literature and address this gap.

Purpose:

Correspondingly, this study posed two research questions.(1) What is the impact of periodic “top-down” communications on practice change at the unit level?(2) What are the “unit-level” communication dynamics enabling practice changes? Whereas this …