Tamara Eberly (University of Virginia School of Medicine); Stephanie Bedasse (HIT Global Consulting Services Inc.); Sara Boussekri (HIT Global Consulting Services Inc.)
The Breastfeeding Friendly Performance Improvement Project was supported by funding from the University of Virginia and the Virginia Department of Health.
Synopsis
The “Breastfeeding Performance Improvement Project” was developed for healthcare professionals to improve practice behaviour regarding the promotion and support of breastfeeding. We will highlight strategies to consider when developing interdisciplinary PI-CME programs, including finding standardized data sources relevant to multiple audiences, selecting appropriate care gaps, and engaging interprofessional interactions within PI-CME programs.
Purpose
The “Breastfeeding Friendly Performance Improvement Project: Meeting the gold standard in infant nutrition” was a performance improvement CME program designed for family physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians/gynecologists, and other healthcare professionals to improve practice behaviour regarding the promotion and support of breastfeeding.
Methods
Faculty developed standardized chart abstraction forms and selected activities based on care gaps identified in the literature. The program was then divided into 3 phases. The Identify phase included a chart audit and participant-developed performance improvement plan. In the Implement phase, participants chose from an extensive list of tools and other resources and implemented their performance improvement plan. In the Integrate phase, participants completed additional chart audits to document changes in practice. During each phase, participants received individualized reports allowing for selfreflection as well as comparison with aggregate data of their peers.
Results
The results are expected to show that physicians will demonstrate an improvement in self-identified care gaps for various factors impacting the advocacy promotion and support of breastfeeding. The program will also validate care gaps identified by program faculty.
Conclusions
Through a discussion of our experiences in developing this program, we will be able to highlight strategies to consider when developing interdisciplinary PI-CME programs, including finding standardized data sources relevant to multiple audiences, selecting appropriate care gaps, and engaging interprofessional interactions within PI-CME programs. The “Breastfeeding Friendly Performance Improvement Project” program will reflect a successful example of implementing a practice improvement program for an interprofessional audience with the common goal of ultimately changing treatment practices that promote and support breastfeeding.
