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Background: While urinary incontinence (UI) is a common and worrying issue among older people, promoting the use of evidence to prevent UI onset has rarely been studied. An earlier study that was conducted in nursing homes suggests that UI can be better assessed and managed, but the prevention of UI onset requires attention to the issue by staff within acute care settings. Aim: To report on the internal facilitators’ (IF) transition, identifying the 'know-do gap' between evidence and practice in UI prevention in orthopaedic care.

Methods: The Onset PrevenTion of Incontinence in Orthopaedic Nursing and rehabilitation (OPTION) pilot was carried out in two Swedish orthopaedic units of different size and location. The pilot project included a programme to support nursing and rehab staff to facilitate knowledge translation (KT). Five IFs were interviewed at baseline, and one and three months after the intervention was completed, and non-participant observations were performed during the KT-intervention. Interviews and observations were triangulated, depicting when and how the IFs identified the present, local UI practice, the evidence on UI, and the know-do gap in preventing UI onset in older patients undergoing hip surgery.

Results: Preliminary results indicate that before the study, neither the IFs nor their fellows at the units were aware that they could prevent UI onset. Rather, through mapping their context and matching the evidence provided by the dialogue with the experts in the KTintervention, the IFs became aware of which practice was evidence based and which evidence to implement, and how to facilitate KT and promote evidence use.

Conclusion: The OPTION pilot indicates that KT can be promoted by tailored implementation strategies and tailoring evidence, supported by IFs awareness and understanding of the local know-do gap, and strategies to overcome barriers and promote use of evidence.