Using communications approaches to spread improvement A practical guide to help you effectively communicate and spread your improvement work
March 2015

Key points
- Analysis of the key concepts in spreading ideas.
- Evidence on what is known about what works to spread improvement.
- Practical suggestions for planning communications, engaging the right people, sustaining interest in the work and celebrating and sharing achievements.
Spreading successful improvement work across the NHS is an essential part of improving health care quality and efficiency. Yet all too often an idea that has been shown to work well in one place is not adopted by others who could benefit from it.
The Health Foundation has been running improvement programmes for many years. This guide, intended for those actively engaged in health care improvement, draws on this experience, and empirical evidence, to provide practical information about how communications approaches can be used to spread improvement ideas.
Cite this publication
Further reading
Research report
The spread challenge
This report shines a light on the challenges facing the NHS in improving the uptake of new ideas and...
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Against the odds: Successfully scaling innovation in the NHS
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