Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of school-partnered collaborative type 1 diabetes interventions: a...

Though school-partnered interventions have the potential to improve health outcomes, data are limited to support their implementation for type 1 diabetes. The objective was to characterize barriers and facilitators (i.e., determinants) to implementing school-partnered collaborative care (SPACE), an intervention designed to improve care coordination, nurse education, and diabetes management in school. We conducted semistructured interviews with school nurses in two states. The interview guide was adapted from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, which organizes determinants by the intervention, the individuals involved, the inner setting, (i.e., school district), the outer setting (i.e., external to the district), and the implementation processes. Major themes were summarized. We included 32 school nurses representing broad geographic regions, district sizes, and levels of nursing experience. School nurses reported that SPACE presented an advantage in care coordination compared with existing practice. Prominent barriers included (1) the intervention's complexity; (2) information sharing between schools and health systems; (3) high school nurses' caseloads, which may limit their availability; and (4) variable levels of parent engagement. Specific facilitators included (1) the intervention's adaptability and low cost, (2) high perceived need for interventions, (3) existing school resources that increase feasibility, (4) a focus on holistic outcomes which align with district priorities, and (5) relationships between school district nurses and leaders. Facilitators were perceived to be crucial to garnering buy-in from decision-makers within district leadership. The themes re-affirmed that school interventions for young people with type 1 diabetes are prioritized by school nurses. Implementation science frameworks can guide pre-implementation work and identify targets for implementation strategies which will mitigate barriers or leverage facilitators.