Improved preventive care in family practices with outreach facilitation: understanding success and failure.
OBJECTIVE
To understand why some family practices with a facilitator improved preventive performance more than others. Sustainability of practice improvements one year after the intervention was also explored.


METHODS
Interviews with physicians and nurses from seven practices and data gathered during the intervention were used to form case studies of three high performing and four low performing family practices. Case studies were developed using cross-case analysis with a combination of the constant-comparative method and memoing-diagramming. Two researchers independently conducted in-depth coding of transcripts and documents, individual case construction for each study site, and then cross-case analysis of the identified themes between study sites.


RESULTS
Staff involvement and a positive attitude toward implementation of changes were central to high improvement in performance. A lack of computers, low staff involvement or high staff turnover were associated with low improvement in performance. Personal characteristics of the facilitator are important. Six of the seven practices still had the prevention tools in place one year after the intervention and all noted that participation had improved their understanding of preventive medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
When using facilitators, one should avoid practices in turmoil, strive for continuity over time, and recognise the importance of the relationship between the facilitator and the practice.
Hogg
William
W
Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, 43 Bruyere Street (375 Etage 3JB), Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5C8, Canada.
Baskerville
Neil
N
Nykiforuk
Candace
C
Mallen
Dan
D
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003253:Consultants; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008611:Mentors; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*