Volunteer facilitators assist community practices with enhancing cancer control.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the feasibility of recruiting, training, and placing in the field volunteers to assist community practices in enhancing the provision of preventive care.


METHODS
A case series design followed up a cohort of volunteers prospectively as they were recruited, trained, and assigned to practices.


METHODS
The New Hampshire Division of the American Cancer Society recruited and trained the volunteer facilitators.


METHODS
Assistance from the volunteers in implementing a preventive services office system served as the intervention for practices. Volunteers were trained and supported by professional staff and an implementation manual.


METHODS
Recruitment, training, and volunteer experiences in working with practices, as well as the costs of supporting the program, were assessed.


RESULTS
Twenty-six volunteers were trained. Of the 15 assigned to practices, 11 had begun to assist their assigned practices to establish a preventive services office system. Extensive planning, patience, and support were required.


CONCLUSIONS
Volunteers recruited and supported by an intermediary organization can provide assistance to practices in implementing a preventive services office system.
Woodruff
C B
CB
Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, USA.
Dietrich
A J
AJ
Carney
P A
PA
Frechette
J I
JI
Camp
M A
MA
Fitzgerald
B S
BS
D000570:American Cancer Society; D004651:Employment; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009513:New Hampshire; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000191:economics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014838:Volunteers; D000078329:Workforce