Background Organizational readiness is a factor known to influence the predisposition of individuals within an organization to change. Based on Weiner’s organizational theory, the “Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change” (ORIC) questionnaire was developed and validated to measure organizational readiness in healthcare contexts. However, no such tools allow French-speaking organizations to measure this concept. The objectives of this study were to (1) conduct a French cultural adaptation of the ORIC questionnaire, and (2) initiate the study of its psychometric properties. Methods (1) Cross-cultural adaptation and translation processes were first conducted with the methodologies of Beaton, Vallerand and Massoubre. (2) Subsequently, internal consistency was documented by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item and item-to-scale correlations. The study of construct validity was initiated with a confirmatory factor analysis. Results A French 10-item scale named the Réceptivité organisationnelle à l’implantation d’un changement ( ROIC ) was developed and pretested by 125 occupational therapists working in Quebec homecare services. Cronbach’s alpha values for the 2 item subscales show satisfactory internal consistency ( Commitment : α = 0.84 and Efficacy : α = 0.86). Inter-item correlations revealed that the ROIC ’s items are moderately related to each other while item-to-total scale correlations pinpoint items that accounts for variance and influence internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis allowed the initiation of a substantial documentation of ROIC ’s model fit with the original version (CFI = 0.89, TLI = 0.85, SRMR = 0.08, and RMSEA = 0.12). Conclusions The ROIC is a new theory-based and translated questionnaire that can be used to rigorously document the organizational readiness of French organizations. The ROIC has the potential to support members of different organizations in the identification of subsequent efforts for the implementation of a change. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4361-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction. With community-dwelling elders waiting to adapt their bathroom, Health and Social Services Centers in Quebec (Canada) combined human resources through cross-skilling within interdisciplinary teams. To this end, occupational therapists implemented in-house “tools” to support nonoccupational therapists in selecting bathing equipment. However, unknown psychometric properties of those in-house “tools” cast doubt on the quality of service provided to elders. Little is also known about the best processes to use to support the deimplementation of such nonevidence-based practices. This study presents the effect of a knowledge transfer and exchange intervention designed to deimplement in-house “tools” and replace them with an evidence-based tool (Algo). Methods. Censuses were conducted with the 94 Health and Social Services Centers of Quebec providing homecare services, before and after the knowledge transfer and exchange intervention (2009-2013). In 2013, the deimplementation of in-house “tools” and their replacement by Algo were measured with Knott and Wildavsky’s levels of utilization. Results. Cross-skilling within interdisciplinary teams increased between censuses (87% to 98%), as did use of in-house “tools” (67% to 81%). Algo’s uptake started during the knowledge transfer and exchange process as 25 Health and Social Services Centers achieved the first level of utilization. Nonetheless, no Health and Social Services Center deimplemented the in-house “tools” to use Algo. Conclusion. The knowledge transfer and exchange process led to the development of a scientifically sound clinical tool (Algo) and challenged the status quo in clinical settings regarding the use of nonevidence-based practices. However, the deimplementation of in-use practices has not yet been observed. This study highlights the need to act proactively on the deimplementation and implementation processes.