Facilitation of a workplace learning intervention in a fluctuating context: An ethnographic, participatory research project in a nursing home in Norway

Background: This single-site nursing home study is part of a larger cluster-randomised controlled trial that aimed to reduce staff use of restraint. The cluster-RCT study involved 24 nursing homes, and investigated the effect of a standardised education intervention to reduce restraint in dementia care with a person-centred care approach. This article draws on empirical data from one of the nursing homes in the control group of the trial, at which the education intervention was tailored to better account for contextual circumstances. Aim: To explore how a tailored education intervention can reduce the use of restraint in a nursing home. The study aims to investigate what local contextual circumstances influenced the process of facilitation of the intervention. Methods: The study was theoretically informed by the Promoting Action Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework, with practice development principles to address local learning needs and contextual issues. External facilitators tailored the education intervention in collaboration with the nursing home leader and staff. A participatory design with data collection based on principles of critical ethnography was used to evaluate the intervention. Results: Fluctuation emerged as the core theme from the evaluation: fluctuating enthusiasm among staff, fluctuating nursing home culture and fluctuating responses by care home residents. Conclusion: The study offers insights into the interplay between a tailored facilitation intervention and fluctuating contextual circumstances in a nursing home. Implications for practice: A successful education intervention requires facilitators who can take into consideration and adapt to fluctuations in the context Facilitation skills must include the ability to value team experiences, recognise learning needs, provide feedback and participate in finding solutions in the moment Flexibility is important in terms of how new knowledge can be used in person-centred ways, notably in attempts to reduce the use of restraint in dementia care8pubpub2 [Article: 4