Development and Preliminary Evaluation of an Implementation Facilitation Training Program

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Healthcare Professional Training
• Clinical Practice Innovation

Background:

• Limited information exists on training methods for implementation practitioners.
• Need for effective training in implementation strategies to support evidence-based practices.
• Implementation scientists identify strategies but lack training transfer knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a training program for implementation facilitation (IF).
• To assess the impact of IF training on knowledge and confidence in diverse clinical settings.
• To compare virtual and in-person training delivery effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Developed and evaluated an IF training program for practitioners, managers, and researchers.
• Administered electronic surveys pre-training, 2 weeks post-training, and 6 months post-training.
• Used nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to compare knowledge and confidence scores.

Main Results:

• Training significantly increased perceived knowledge and confidence in IF skills from pre- to post-training and 6-month follow-up.
• No significant differences were found between virtual and in-person training delivery.
• Confidence in applying IF skills decreased for half of the learning objectives at 6 months post-training.

Conclusions:

• The developed IF training program is promising for enhancing implementation skills.
• Training can be delivered remotely without loss of knowledge/skills transfer.
• Ongoing support is crucial for sustaining practitioners' confidence in applying IF skills long-term.