Table 2 Overview of implementation strategies [10]
Focus | Implementation strategy | Operationalization |
|---|---|---|
Overall implementation support | Provide ongoing consultation | Bi-monthly implementation meetings (2 h) between the nursing home leadership (incl. Nursing directors, INTERCARE nurses) and the research group to support and reflect on the intervention elements’ implementation, and to provide information. Structured meeting notes were collected to capture implementation processes and relevant experiences. |
Bi-weekly implementation telephone calls (1 h) between INTERCARE nurses and the study coordinator to support, reflect and address the implementation of the role, STOP&WATCH, and ISBAR and to identify problems. During the phone calls structured notes were collected to capture implementation processes and relevant experiences. | ||
INTERCARE nurse | Conduct ongoing training | Provision of education and training for INTERCARE nurses (approximately 390 h) throughout the study. Topics comprised: clinical skills (e.g., comprehensive geriatric assessment), leadership, communication, quality improvement and information about the intervention elements (e.g., STOP&WATCH, ISBAR). |
Develop and distribute educational materials | Research group posted on an online educational and training platform different educational material, e.g., readings, videos were posted for the INTERCARE nurses to support implementation. | |
Make training dynamic | The training for INTERCARE nurses comprised blended learning with e-learning and in-person education approaches to support learning. | |
STOP&WATCH and ISBAR | Create new clinical teams | The INTERCARE nurses constituted a new member of the interprofessional care team and in this role their role is to facilitate the implementation of ISBAR and STOP&WATCH in the nursing home. They are responsible for planning, monitoring, evaluating the implementation in the nursing homes. |
Develop and distribute educational materials | At the start of the implementation staff handouts, flyers, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and pocket versions of STOP&WATCH and ISBAR were distributed to the care workers. | |
Optional strategy | Identify and prepare champions | Nursing homes received implementation guidelines with the suggestion to appoint and train champions, i.e., local facilitators, on each unit to support the INTERCARE nurses in planning, monitoring, and evaluating both instruments’ unit-level implementation. The INTERCARE nurse prepared the champions. |