Facilitators and barriers in the implementation of the meeting centres model for people with dementia and their carers

The implementation of care innovations that have been proven effective is not matter-of-course. In this study, we traced facilitating and impeding factors in the implementation of thirteen meeting centres for people with dementia and their carers in five different regions in The Netherlands. To guide the data collection and analyses, a theoretical model was developed that distinguishes different phases of implementation, and factors at the level of characteristics of the innovation and other preconditions. Qualitative methods were used, including interviews with 23 key figures and other written materials gathered. The interview data were double coded and analyzed, using the computer programme NVivo. Several factors proved to play a facilitating role in all phases of implementation, for example: motivated people, financial resources, continuous and varied PR-activities, and cooperation between organizations. Other important facilitating characteristics of the meeting centres were: the surplus value of the integrated support programme as compared to the local support offer, and the fact that several centres were already available as an example for new initiators. The findings were used, among other things, to develop an implementation guide, to facilitate the implementation of meeting centres.