When a program or practice lacks specificity, it is challenging for those delivering services to know what they should be saying or doing to achieve expected outcomes. This might lead to inconsistency and limited precision in implementing the intervention, which can negatively affect outcomes. Programs and practices should be defined so that they are teachable, learnable, doable and assessable. Specifically, a practice profile methodology can be used to define a program’s guiding principles, core components and related activities.
What Tools or Resources Are Available to Develop a Practice Profile?
Implementation Support Practitioners can use the following resource to develop a practice profile:
- Practice Profile Methodology Paper: This resource describes the research and rationale behind practice profile development.
- Practice Profile Partnership Agreement: This sample partnership agreement can be used by teams interested in developing a practice profile and the implementation support practitioners to clarify roles and responsibilities.
- Practice Profile Worksheet: This worksheet provides both general guidance and a detailed workplan for developing a practice profile.
- Practice Profile Document Review and Interview Prioritization Guidance: These worksheets can help teams prepare for prioritizing documents and interview subjects.
- Practice Profile Interview Protocol Template and Example: The template provides examples of the types of questions that can be used to guide semi-structured interviews. A sample interview protocol is also included and was developed for partners delivering technical assistance.
- Practice Profile Systematic Scoping Review Guidance: This resource provides an overview of the six-step process for conducting a systematic scoping review.
- Practice Profile Vetting and Consensus Building — Sample Protocol: This sample protocol can be used by teams to carry out the vetting and consensus building process.
- Practice Profile Feedback Cycle Guidance: This resource provides an overview of a process that teams can use to conduct content validation and usability testing.
- Practice Profile Template: Teams can use this template to record guiding principles, core components, operational definitions and activities to finalize a practice profile.