In this section, we offer some possible perspectives/frameworks that have helped others plan their evaluation of programs in the past, as well as give you areas to consider before beginning your evaluation activities.
An evaluation of your FiCare program requires multifactorial thinking. There are many perspectives to take when planning evaluation activities and at your units you might already follow a schema or framework that guides your current quality improvement and sustainment work.
What to consider before getting started with implementation
Your FiCare site will be unique because of the structure and practices/processes of care in place in your setting. You can begin by consulting mentors from the wider international FiCare community about how you are hoping to operationalize FiCare in your unit’s structure and care processes. Understanding the core values, and components present within your NICU context is important in understanding what goals are attainable and necessary for sustainment of FiCare practice within and by your team.
We suggest familiarizing yourself with a recent taxonomy of parent-focused NICU interventions and parent-partnered care models developed by Doctors Linda Franck and Karel O’Brien (2019). Prior to developing your evaluation, it is important to understand the core components and values you wish to sustain within your setting and by seeing how FiCare practice is defined and operationalized in comparison to other parent-partnered models can support getting off to the right start with FiCare evaluation plans.
Frameworks for evaluating FiCare programs
It is a good idea to map your unit’s needs, structure and staff attitudes about FICare prior to planning your evaluation. If you have not already done so we suggest using Intervention mapping, and logic model development.
See links below to read more about these methods:
- Intervention Mapping
- Logic Model Example from Saskatchewan, Canada
- Logic Model Example from Toronto, Canada
There are many more like this, and you can design your own perhaps in consultation with mentors from the FiCare community, as long as, the method brings together ideas of the many stakeholders and allows for honest sharing of ideas about your unit’s current structure, processes/practices and culture it should be useful.