A one-group experimental study is performed including a multiple methods evaluation.
Participants were recruited at two levels:
* the trainers responsible for delivering the training to the Quality Leaders and the Managers from the long-term care facilities,
* LTCF who test the training programme, select the Quality Leaders and Managers to participate in the training and who will elaborate and test a data-driven quality development project based on one MQI with the PDCA cycle within their facility.
The external training providers have experience in training staff in long-term care facilities. They have been instructed by the research team (February 2025) on how to conduct the developed training for facility Quality Leaders and managers. The trainings are conducted in three languages all regions of Switzerland. The research team informs the training participants about the study and the data collection.
At facility level, six to twelve LTCFs per Swiss language region (German, French and Italian speaking) were recruited between November and December 2024 (25 facilities in total over all language regions). At least two persons per facility will be trained between March and June 2025 to act as a Quality Leader or a Manager and perform tasks (1 full day in-person training and one peer-to-peer online meeting (2h) for managers; 2 full day in-person training onsite, two online workshops (3-4h), and two peer-to-peer online meetings (2x2h) for quality leaders.
In LTCFs the investigators aim to collect data from the quality leaders, the managers, the direct care staff, the broader staff and the residents and relatives. All individual participants will be asked written consent for data collection. This study examines the tested "training and support programme" during a 3-months interval, from end of March until June 2025. Data will be collected between March 2025 and August 2025.
At the training provider level
Quantitative data:
Activity logs: The costs of organizing and delivering the trainings will be assessed by using activity logbooks filled in continuously by the staff organizing and conducting the training (March to June 2025)
Qualitative data:
Group discussion: Acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and adaptations to the training and support material, and barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the training will be assessed through group discussions with the staff involved after each of the training sessions (March to June 2025, in total 21 interviews or group discussions, 7 per language region).
At the long-term care facility level Staff level
Quantitative data:
Online survey: Acceptability, feasibility and fidelity will be assessed via surveys of involved staff at different levels in March 2025 (quality leaders and managers) and in June 2025 (quality leaders, managers, care staff and broader staff). The surveys will also ask for background information on the facilities and participants. Survey data will be collected in a secure online electronic data collection platform (REDCap).
Activity logbooks: Costs associated with the implementation will be assessed by using activity logbooks filled in by the quality leaders and managers and salary categories.
Qualitative data:
Focus groups: Acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and adaptations to the toolkit, and barriers and facilitators to implementation will be assessed through focus group per language region per staff group mixing facilities:
1. 1 focus groups with quality leaders (June 2025, 1 per language region)
2. 1 focus groups with nurses and care staff exposed to the training and support program (June 2025, 1 per language region) Residents and relatives' level
Qualitative data:
Focus groups or interviews: Experiences, perceptions, expectations regarding their involvement in quality development during the pilot.
