[Motivation and barriers to the use of facilitator visits in general practice]

Facilitator programmes or outreach visits have proven effective in changing physician behaviour, and there is increased focus on facilitator programmes as effective strategies in continuing GP education. This article presents GP motivation and barriers to receiving a facilitator visit in connection with a newly-established facilitator programme on dementia in Vejle County.

The article is based on data collected in a qualitative evaluation of the programme, and includes focus group discussions with participating GPs (three groups, 19 participants) and facilitators (four), telephone interviews with GPs who declined to participate in the programme (15), and observational studies.

Primary motivational factors for participation were: 1) the programme was associated with the acquisition of neutral knowledge, 2) the opportunity for dialogue with colleagues about everyday practice, 3) the facilitator as a person, 4) the time and place of the visits, and 5) the topic. Initially, many GPs were critical of the programme. The barriers were primarily due to 1) a lack of understanding of the relevance (including topic), 2) insecurity about the aims of the programme, and 3) the facilitator as a person.

The main barriers towards the programme may be overcome through better introduction of the programme. However, the content of the visits should also be brought into focus--specifically the topic of facilitation and its relevance to practice, as well as the form of the visits, especially the possibility of giving the GPs the opportunity to choose among different facilitators.