SynthesisPloS one2023
The aims and effectiveness of communities of practice in healthcare: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Communities of Practice in Long-Term Care-Exploring Frameworks, Barriers and Enablers: A Systematic Review.Australasian journal on ageing · 2026Pooled it
- Building capacity for genomics in primary care: a scoping review of practitioner attitudes, education needs, and enablers.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Experiential knowledge and peer support in type 1 diabetes: insights from endurance running communities.PEC innovation · 2026Article
- The AI4GH community of practice: strengthening LMIC-Led artificial intelligence for global health.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring the training, implementation and utilisation experiences of lung ultrasound accredited physiotherapists in the United Kingdom: A national survey.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2026Article
- The Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative Healthcare System Preparedness US Early Detection of Cognitive Impairment Program in primary care: Methodology.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Consolidating Dispersed Knowledge About Citizen Science and Citizen Observatories: Experiences from the Four WeObserve Communities of Practice.Environmental management · 2026Article
- From prestige to solidarity: why WHO collaborating centres must become a political force.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Co-Design of a Community of Practice for People With Personal and Professional Expertise or Interest in Dementia in Australia.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Health Service Leaders' Perspectives on Type 1 Diabetes Models of Care for Children and Young Adults in Australia: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of diabetes research · 2026Article
- From knowledge to collective action: a peer-led model for climate and health leadership.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Supporting the Community's Health Advocates: Initial Insights into the Implementation of a Dual-Purpose Educational and Supportive Group for Community Health Workers.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Enhancing Urban Health Through a Community of Practice to Promote Active Lifestyle in a Population with Chronic Diseases: The +ACTIU Project.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The SIMPLER Nutrition Pathway for Fragility Fractures: A Quality Improvement Initiative.Nutrients · 2025Article
- A multi-country mixed method evaluation of the HERA (Healthcare Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse) intervention: A comparative analysis.SSM - health systems · 2025Article
- Using the Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox to Provide Web-Based Adolescent Health Promotion Decision Support to American Indian and Alaska Native Communities: Implementation Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Using human-centered design to advance health literacy in local health department programming: a case study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- How can a community of practice support healthcare professionals navigating new roles? a case study of genetic counsellors employed to work in medical specialities.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Progressing implementation of behavior change frameworks for digital health interventions: challenges and ways forward.Translational behavioral medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Communities of practice (CoPs) are defined as "groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis". They are an effective form of knowledge management that have been successfully used in the business sector and increasingly so in healthcare. In May 2023 the electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched for primary research studies on CoPs published between 1st January 1950 and 31st December 2022. PRISMA guidelines were followed. The following search terms were used: community/communities of practice AND (healthcare OR medicine OR patient/s). The database search picked up 2009 studies for screening. Of these, 50 papers met the inclusion criteria. The most common aim of CoPs was to directly improve a clinical outcome, with 19 studies aiming to achieve this. In terms of outcomes, qualitative outcomes were the most common measure used in 21 studies. Only 11 of the studies with a quantitative element had the appropriate statistical methodology to report significance. Of the 9 studies that showed a statistically significant effect, 5 showed improvements in hospital-based provision of services such as discharge planning or rehabilitation services. 2 of the studies showed improvements in primary-care, such as management of hepatitis C, and 2 studies showed improvements in direct clinical outcomes, such as central line infections. CoPs in healthcare are aimed at improving clinical outcomes and have been shown to be effective. There is still progress to be made and a need for further studies with more rigorous methodologies, such as RCTs, to provide further support of the causality of CoPs on outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.