Case studies: A short guide to writing case studies

Case studies – a short guide to writing case studies Understand the purpose or intention: Why are you writing it? Who do you want to influence? What are they key messages? Know your audience: Will they understand what you are trying to convey? Will it maintain their interest? Will it have impact or encourage them to take notice? Defining the issue: Provide an introductory statement clearly outlining the issue or problem Provide relevant background Outline the actions used to solve the problem Case studies provide an opportunity to show case good or promising practice. They are frequently used to describe a problem or issue, which logically and step by step has been addressed to show impact or improvement GETTING STARTED A well written case study will be informative, maintain interest and prompt action or further inquiry so remember the 4 core principles. TELLING YOUR STORY Clarity Concise Relevant Impact Demonstrate the impact: Show what change or improvement has been made State how you measured impact Specify the return on investment Provide data and clear evidence of improvement Show how this impacted on service users Bring the case study alive with a relevant short quote or feedback THE RESULTS £

Case study template example Title Include a short descriptive title which reflects the example and will capture the readers interest Background Include a short focussed summary; What was the issue or starting point? What did you want to achieve? How was this supported? Practice development Provide a concise overview of the development; Include details of the process and steps taken as part of the development Describe the changes and interventions Measuring impact Describe the short and long term improvement for the individual for the service provision Include: Any feedback received Improvements which were secured for the parents / family Information about return on investment (ROI) or value for money Any numeric data – e.g. survey results Learning Provide key areas of: Learning and what worked Things you might do differently References Include relevant links and references

Local practice examples Understand the purpose or intention: Why are you writing it? What do you want to showcase? What are they key messages? Know your audience: Will they understand what you are trying to convey? Will it maintain their interest? Will it help others or influence decisions? Defining the issue: Clearly outline the practice and why change was needed Describe your aims & objectives Be succinct in describing your actions Local practice examples can be used to celebrate successes and to share what works. They are not formal research however they make an invaluable contribution to knowledge translation and learning or research generation GETTING STARTED A well local practice example will be informative, maintain interest and prompt action or further inquiry so remember the 4 core principles. TELLING YOUR STORY Clarity Concise Relevant Impact Demonstrate the impact: Show what change or improvement has been made Provide key learning points to guide others Show evidence of what worked and why Include any monitoring or evaluation Show how this impacted on service users Bring the case study alive with a relevant short quote or feedback Share what your next steps will be THE RESULTS £

Local practice example template 1 Title Include a short descriptive title which reflects the key focus and main benefit Description Include a short focussed description of your practice example & the main benefit Context – what was the aim? Provide a concise overview of your aims and objectives Describe the starting point, baseline and include useful data about population or demographics Explain how the need arose Method – what did you do? Provide clear details of: What you activity you undertook Who was involved and why Outcomes – what difference did you make? How was this measured? Can you show evidence of impact? What has changed? Was there any user feedback? Was this value for money / did you make any savings? Key learning points Provide key areas of: What are the key learning points and what worked well? What things you might do differently What future plans do you have to embed this? References Include relevant links and references where appropriate

Sharing case studies and practice examples There are number of places to share case studies and local practice examples – the important thing is to write it up and share; we can all then learn, generate new ideas at least identify any gaps and inform the evidence base On the web PHE / WHO NICE Awards Nursing time / Cavell Social media Twitter / We learn Fab NHS stuff SHARING EXAMPLES Share & learn Identify gaps Generate ideas Evidence base Remember case studies & practice examples can: Support reflection and revalidation Help identify service improvements and improve quality of care Generate new evidence or support existing evidence Support decision making Raise the profile of a service and provide an opportunity to celebrate! Support learning and development THE BENEFITS

References / further reading https://www.rcn.org.uk/professional-development/nice-collaboration/nice-case-studies http://www2.hull.ac.uk/lli/pdf/Case%20Studies.pdf https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/upgrade/study-skills/reflective-writing-using-gibbs/ http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Life-stages/child-and-adolescent-health/publications/2013/improving-the-lives-of-children-and-young-people-case-studies-from-europe.-volume-1.-early-years http://www.nesta.org.uk/search?search_api_views_fulltext=case%20studies Please send any case studies to PHEChiefNurseTeam@phe.gov.uk