Table 2 Methods available for members of communities of practice to interact and communicate with each other and to exchange information or knowledge, in chronological order of publication*

[27]

1999

Face-to-face ongoing interactions at place of work.

[35]

2000

A one-off workshop based on situated-learning model was organised to engage nurses in research.

[20]

2002

Regularly, to move the project goals forward

[33]

2002

At least 6 - 10 times a year.

[24]

2002

Coordinated information, training and education sessions for medical professionals and other stakeholders.

[16]

2003

Each CoP met seven times during the study period.

Members undertook 'homework' to seek information in between meetings.

[17]

2004

Meetings of practice staff, GPs, partners, executives, admin staff, partners and practice manager, and practice award nurse team.

Multiple informal gatherings and discussions, patient-doctor consultations, home visits.

[21]

2004

Targeted email and networking service for health practitioners and researchers.

[39]

2004

Face-to-face meetings.

Listserv

Interactive website.

Site-visits, each lasting 2.5 days; followed by circulation of a newsletter summarising the meeting and a CD compilation of the presentations made during the site visits.

Teleconferences.

Opportunity to participate in special projects funded by the sponsoring agency.

[18]

2005

Face-to-face ongoing interactions at place of work.

[19]

2005

Met for 2 days at the start of the project, and at months 4, 9 and 14.

Participants were encouraged to participate in virtual workshops to discuss models or descriptions of gerontological nursing identified from the literature.

[46]

2006

Virtual college.

[45]

2006

The initial bringing together of the group.

Email discussions

[37]

2006

Met monthly the project to report and share and effective strategies, contribute to problem reinforce and and to ensure consistency in data collection.

Presentations of evidence-base by experts at the kick-off session. Monthly progress reports posted on bulletin boards.

[22]

2006

Online system for posting and discussing critical incidents in anaesthesia.

[40]

2007

Not described in detail. The authors make reference to the program functioning predominantly through a virtual platform with opportunity for personal communication and networking.

[31]

2007

Regular web-based seminars

Occasional face-to-face meetings

Teleconferences. CoP members were granted access to online resources including policy, program and research aids; including standard research and evaluation protocols.

[34]

2007

Symposium to discuss the recommendations.

Guidelines were presented to members of the CoP by postal mail, email, and website.

Web-based system was offered as a method of communication.

[44]

2007

While not explicitly stated in the paper, it is assumed that the activities undertaken by the group would have involved face-to-face interaction.

The clinical planning group was established to plan clinical training, coordinate installation of training versions of EMP, and organise a range of practical tasks.

[32]

2007

Multidisciplinary workshops

Web-based platform used to deliver educational content.

[43]

2007

Exchanges during routine work.

[42]

2008

Email Listserv

[36]

2008

Attendance and participation in journal clubs and case conferences.

[26]

2008

Knowledge-pooling and translation is facilitated through a virtual practice-development college.

[30]

2008

Not described in the paper.

[38]

2008

Local and regional meetings.

Teleconferences with community health centre teams.

[23]

2008

Leadership program that led to the emergence of CoP included group reflection exercises.

[15]

2009

Bi-monthly, half-day workshops to discuss 'hot topics' identified by the 'core' group.

Database of members published on a CoP website.

[29]

2009

12 case-based learning modules with content relevant to clinical topic, and an asynchronous online discussion board.

[41]

2009

Project coordinator maintained regular communication with CoP members by email and telephone.

[28]

2009

3-day training program

Face to face meetings, site visits for individualized consultation.

Email support

Web and wiki support.

Reliability and software training, telephone support, information provided on the website, quarterly agency reports.

[11]

2009

Not applicable - systematic review of the literature

[14]

2009

Not applicable - systematic review of the literature