From policy to patient care: Exploring the implementation of government directed policy in the hospital setting

Effective policy implementation remains a significant challenge for health care administrators and policy makers. Using interpretive description methods, this thesis identified important factors and associated principles that influence the implementation of government directed policy in the hospital setting. These principles were that government directed policy needs to be understood, accepted, validated, integrated, and supported; and that implementation of government directed policy needs to be planned. Consideration of these principles is of value in guiding both policy development and implementation planning to maximize the impact of these policies on clinical practice and patient outcomes