title: Improving chronic care through continuing education of interprofessional primary healthcare teams: a process evaluation.
abstract: Process evaluations assess program structures and implementation processes so that outcomes can be accurately interpreted. This article reports the results of a process evaluation of Partnerships for Health, an initiative targeting interprofessional primary healthcare teams to improve chronic care in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Program documentation, participant observation, and in-depth interviews were used to capture details about the program structure, implementation process, and experience of implementers and participants. Results suggest that the intended program was modified during implementation to better meet the needs of participants and to overcome participation barriers. Elements of program activities perceived as most effective included series of off-site learning/classroom sessions, practice-based/workplace information-technology (IT) support, and practice coaching because they provided: dedicated time to learn how to improve chronic care; team-building/networking within and across teams; hands-on IT training/guidance; and flexibility to meet individual practice needs. This process evaluation highlighted key program activities that were essential to the continuing education (CE) of interprofessional primary healthcare teams as they attempted to transform primary healthcare to improve chronic care.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario , Canada and.
authors.forename: Jann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paquette-Warren
authors.forename: Sharon Ellen
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fournie
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D004496:Education, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011320:Primary Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D058996:Quality Improvement