Site visits provide a unique opportunity to understand site-specific contextual factors. While site visits are frequently utilized, there is a paucity of guidance on conducting them in the area of health care implementation studies. Evaluation site-visit standards proposed by Patton in 2015 and revised in 2017 could add systematic rigor to site visits while allowing for exploration of emerging standards.
We used a rapid content analysis approach and applied Patton’s 12 site-visit standards (evaluation competence, methodological competence, interpersonal competence, cultural competence, planning and preparation, site participation, do no harm, credible fieldwork, neutrality, debriefing/feedback, site review, and follow-up) to documents associated with planning, managing, and conducting a multi-site implementation evaluation using site visits. Documents included meeting minutes, training materials, emails, data collection templates, and interview guides. This ignite presentation will discuss our process, share tips to apply Patton’s recommendations to future evaluations, and propose next steps for moving the field forward.