Further Development and Promotion of Practice Facilitation Through the International Conference on Practice Facilitation Project Summary Practice facilitation is a new, dynamically emerging healthcare profession worldwide. Practice Facilitators (PFs) have varied professional backgrounds, but they are specifically trained to support healthcare improvement by providing critical resources and developing sustained relationships with community-based healthcare organizations. In 2017, a consortium of practice facilitation stakeholders, which evolved from a strategic collaboration of AHRQ P30 Centers for Primary Care Practice-Based Research and Learning, received an AHRQ R13 award to develop and conduct three consecutive annual conferences to advance the science and implementation of practice facilitation on an international scale. Partnering with the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) and support from AHRQ, the first International Conference on Practice Facilitation (ICPF) was held in Louisville, KY (2017) and a second meeting in Tampa, FL (2018). Both conferences were highly successful, attracting 122 and 146 registrants, respectively, from three countries (the US, Canada, and Australia). Building on the enthusiasm and success of the first set of conferences, the long-term goal of the ICPF consortium is to move the successful annual conference, through a continued expansion of our PF Learning Community, toward the development of a professional organization for practice facilitators. In order to achieve our long-term vision, we propose the following aims: 1) Expand and further develop the current annual conference, responding to the emerging and growing professional needs of PFs worldwide; 2) Establish a maintainable approach to develop and grow the ongoing PF Learning Community based on conference activities; and 3) Leveraging the PF Learning Community structure, guide the activities of ICPF toward the establishment of a professional society for practice facilitation.

R13HS027287

2020-09-30

2023-09-29