Development of a Universal Healthcare Professionals’ Implementation- Needs Questionnaire and Its Validation Among Ukrainian Family Doctors

Why It Matters

A validated, needs‑focused questionnaire enables health systems to design targeted implementation strategies, accelerating adoption of evidence‑based practices across specialties.

Key Takeaways

• 31 initial items narrowed to 14 after expert validation
• Validation used CVR ≥0.62, CVI ≥0.79, IIS ≥1.5 thresholds
• Core needs include instructions, skills, time, financial incentives
• HPIQ‑FD proved concise and practical for primary care
• Instrument can be adapted for other specialties worldwide

Pulse Analysis

Implementing evidence‑based practice often stalls when interventions ignore the day‑to‑day realities of clinicians. Existing surveys tend to measure generic competencies or barriers, leaving a gap for tools that pinpoint the precise needs of individual providers. The newly developed Healthcare Professionals’ Implementation‑needs Questionnaire (HPIQ) addresses this void by translating the Determinants of Implementation Behavior Questionnaire into a needs‑oriented format, offering a systematic way to surface what doctors actually require to change practice.

The HPIQ’s development followed a rigorous, multi‑stage validation process. Twelve implementation experts first reviewed a pool of 31 items, followed by a second panel of ten experts, applying quantitative thresholds—Content Validity Ratio of at least 0.62, Content Validity Index of 0.79, and Item Impact Score of 1.5. Feedback from 25 Ukrainian family physicians further refined the instrument, resulting in a final 14‑item version (HPIQ‑FD) that balances Likert‑scale and open‑ended questions. The retained items capture essential needs such as clear procedural guidance, hands‑on skill development, allocated time, financial incentives, resource access, and organizational backing.

The broader significance lies in the questionnaire’s universality and scalability. By delivering a concise, validated checklist of implementation needs, health systems can tailor interventions—training, workflow redesign, or incentive structures—to the exact gaps identified, thereby improving uptake and sustainability of best‑practice guidelines. Moreover, the HPIQ framework can be customized for other specialties, settings, or countries, offering a valuable asset for implementation scientists and policymakers aiming to bridge the evidence‑practice divide worldwide.