Impact assessment method

The impact assessment method helps you to analyse the cognitive impact of information.

It comprises of a 7 item scale developed from an extensive literature review. The scale includes: 

• no impact 
• reassurance (I was more confident) 
• confirmation (I was doing the right thing) 
• practice improvement (clinical decision making was enhanced) 
• recall (I recalled something I’d forgotten) 
• learning (I learned something new or updated my knowledge) 
• other 

The tool has been used by the team to test information gained through: 

• hand held devices
• evidence summaries  
• alerts by email
• information for patients

The impact assessment method was developed by the Canadian team, Roland Grad and Pierre Pluye from McGill University and published A New Impact Assessment Method to Evaluate Knowledge Resources in 2005.