Development of an interprofessional lean facilitator assessment scale.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Organizational Psychology
• Process Management

Background:

• High reliability is crucial for healthcare quality and safety.
• Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) and Lean strategies enhance reliability but require skilled facilitation.
• A validated assessment tool for Lean facilitators in IPCP settings is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot evaluate the Interprofessional Lean Facilitator Assessment Scale (ILFAS).
• To create a tool measuring both technical and 'soft' skills of facilitators.
• To address the gap in validated assessment instruments for Lean facilitators in interprofessional contexts.

Main Methods:

• The ILFAS was developed using Lean/Shingo, IPCP, metacognition, and Bloom's Taxonomy principles.
• Expert panel confirmed initial face validity.
• Researchers assessed five facilitators across six Lean sessions, analyzing inter-rater agreement and usability via stakeholder feedback.

Main Results:

• High inter-rater agreement (92%) was observed in facilitator performance assessments.
• Face, content validity, and usability were established, with minor revisions made post-pilot feedback.
• The ILFAS demonstrated potential for discriminating between facilitators of varying skill levels.

Conclusions:

• The Interprofessional Lean Facilitator Assessment Scale (ILFAS) is a comprehensive tool for assessing facilitator knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• ILFAS shows promise in evaluating facilitators involved in Lean and interprofessional collaborative practice.
• Further research is recommended to fully explore the instrument's performance and validity in diverse healthcare settings.