What is the POCKET Network?
The POCKET Network was established as part of the GAC's project on Back Pain. The POCKET Steering Committee wanted to engage family physicians in Ontario in the development and implementation of tools addressing the care of Acute and Chronic Low Back Pain in Ontario.
A survey conducted by mail over the summer of 2004 with 3797 physicians in Ontario, asked physicians to identify peers they considered Opinion Leaders or Educationally Influential Physicians. Nearly 1500 returned responses. Physicians nominated five to six times were identified, representing 198 family physicians, and constituting a representative geographic sampling of physicians across the province.
The 198 physicians were contacted and invited to attend an inaugural session in November 2004 that acted as an introduction to the potential building of a POCKET Network and as an opportunity to provide feedback on tools for implementation on Back Pain.
The POCKET Steering Committee and the POCKET Network intend to continue to work together in implementing evidence into practice beyond the Back Pain Initiative.
Want to Partner with POCKET?
Visit our Working with POCKET Section
What is an Educationally Influential Physician?
We have provided a section on the definition of an EI and the methodology used to identify them for this project.
Building the Network: A Timeline of Training Activities
| Fall 2003 | Guidelines Advisory Committee (GAC) begins project to implement guidelines for primary care management of acute low back pain (ALBP) |
| Jan 2004 | Organizational Partners join GAC: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario; Ontario College of Family Physicians; Institute of Work & Health; U of T Knowledge Translation Program |
| Nov 2004 | 200 Educationally Influential Physicians (EIPs) identified by peer nomination; 55 EIPs attend inaugural session in Toronto to discuss and provide feedback on network and research evidence to inform workshops |
| Summer/Fall 2005 | Regional workshops for EIPs held to disseminate evidence and practice tools for LBP; POCKET name coined by one EIP |
| 2006 | Original organizations form the POCKET Steering Committee |
| Present | Evaluation of the POCKET initiative: the Network, EIPs and dissemination of LBP resources |
