Reflective writing: a tool to support continuous learning and improved effectiveness in implementation facilitators

Tanya T Olmos-Ochoa, Karissa M Fenwick, David A Ganz, Neetu Chawla, Lauren S Penney, Jenny M Barnard, Isomi M Miake-Lye, Alison B Hamilton, Erin P Finley, Tanya T Olmos-Ochoa, Karissa M Fenwick, David A Ganz, Neetu Chawla, Lauren S Penney, Jenny M Barnard, Isomi M Miake-Lye, Alison B Hamilton, Erin P Finley

Abstract

Background: Implementation facilitators support the adoption of evidence-based practices and other improvement efforts in complex healthcare settings. Facilitators are trained to develop essential facilitation skills and facilitator effectiveness is typically evaluated post-implementation, but little is known about how facilitators apply and adapt didactic knowledge after training, or how learning and refining experiential knowledge occurs during the facilitation process. We propose the use of reflective writing as a tool to document and support facilitator learning and facilitator effectiveness.

Methods: Using an instrumental case study of the Coordination Toolkit and Coaching (CTAC) project, we explore the use of reflective writing by facilitators to support their learning and effectiveness. Six primary care clinics participated in weekly hour-long facilitation calls over a 12-month period to implement quality improvement projects related to care coordination. Two facilitators completed templated reflections after each facilitation call for their assigned sites, totaling 269 reflections. We used the declarative-procedural-reflective model, which defines the process of skill development in clinical practice, to qualitatively analyze the reflections. Two independent coders used content analysis principles to code text that captured facilitators' observations, evaluations, interpretations, and communication. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze reflections by facilitator and by code within and across reflections.

Results: CTAC facilitators primarily used the reflections to summarize the calls (observation), assess the facilitation process and the tasks and activities they used (evaluation), document their thoughts about how to improve their own effectiveness (interpretation), and describe their communication with implementing teams. Ninety-one percent of reflections included observations, 42% interpretation, 41% evaluation, and 44% facilitator communication. In total, we coded 677 segments of text within reflections: 39% represented observation, 20% interpretation, 18% evaluation, and 23% facilitator communication.

Conclusions: The process of reflective writing allowed the CTAC facilitators the time and structure to evaluate their facilitation and to think critically about how to adjust their facilitation in response to their observations and interpretations. Reflective writing is a feasible and acceptable tool to support and document facilitator learning and effectiveness.

Trial registration: The project was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03063294 ) on February 24, 2017.

Keywords: Facilitator effectiveness; Implementation facilitation; Qualitative methods; Quality improvement; Reflective writing.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

© 2021. The Author(s).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Example of CTAC facilitator reflection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Exemplary quotes of reflective processes in facilitator reflections. Abbreviations: AMSA Advanced Medical Support Assistant, HAS Health Administration Service
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Exemplary quotes of facilitator communication in facilitator reflections. Abbreviations: AMSA Advanced Medical Support Assistant, HAS Health Administration Service, SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound

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