The following is a summary of “Practice Facilitation to Support Family Physicians in Encouraging COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake: A Multimethod Process Evaluation,” published in the November 2023  issue of Primary Care by Shuldiner, et al.

For a study, researchers helped family doctors who knew that many of their patients hadn’t been protected against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by making their practices easier. They used several different research methods to evaluate the process as part of a randomized controlled study. As well as data from facilitator field notes and qualitative interviews with family doctors and practice facilitators, They also got general numbers about involvement. Thematic analysis was used to look at and combine the data, and structure, organizational, medical, and patient factors were used to map application hurdles and drivers.

Out of the 300 family doctors who were asked, only 90 (30%) agreed to help. 57% of these people got help with technology to find patients who hadn’t been shot, 29% had trained medical student volunteers to call patients on their behalf, and 30% used automatic calling to get in touch with patients. Key things that made people not want to participate in the intervention were a lack of staff because of COVID-19 (structural), problems at the clinic, like technical issues and staff who wouldn’t let facilitators talk to doctors (organizational), burnout among doctors (physician), and the need for specialized resources for certain groups of people (patient). The facilitator’s skill in dealing with technology problems and getting family doctors in touch with medical students helped get people involved.

Strategies to help family doctors who aren’t getting enough resources to help high-needs groups with public health problems, like promoting vaccines, must consider how little time doctors have and give them more resources. Practice organizers should work to build trust and relationships with everyone, including front desk staff, over time to get family doctors to join.

Source: annfammed.org/content/21/6/526