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

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Implementation science
• Professional development in healthcare

Background:

• Implementation facilitators are crucial for adopting evidence-based practices in healthcare.
• Facilitator effectiveness is typically assessed post-implementation, with limited understanding of in-process learning.
• Reflective writing is proposed as a method to document and support facilitator learning and effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the use of reflective writing by facilitators to support their learning and effectiveness.
• To investigate how facilitators apply and adapt knowledge during the implementation process.
• To examine the role of experiential learning in facilitator skill development.

Main Methods:

• An instrumental case study of the Coordination Toolkit and Coaching (CTAC) project.
• Qualitative analysis of 269 templated reflections completed by two facilitators over 12 months.
• Application of the declarative-procedural-reflective model and content analysis principles.

Main Results:

• Facilitators primarily used reflections for observation, evaluation of the facilitation process, interpretation for self-improvement, and documenting communication.
• Reflections predominantly captured observations (91%), followed by interpretation (42%), evaluation (41%), and communication (44%).
• Content analysis revealed 39% observation, 20% interpretation, 18% evaluation, and 23% facilitator communication segments.

Conclusions:

• Reflective writing provided facilitators with a structured approach to evaluate and critically adjust their practice.
• The study demonstrates that reflective writing is a feasible and acceptable tool for supporting and documenting facilitator learning.
• This method enhances facilitator effectiveness by fostering continuous learning and adaptation during implementation efforts.