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Monitoring and assessing the quality of care for youth: developing an audit tool using an expert consensus approach.
- Source :
-
International Journal of Mental Health Systems . Jul2015, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p1-12. 12p. 4 Diagrams, 2 Charts. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Background: The mental health needs of young people are often inadequately met by health services. Quality improvement approaches provide a framework for measuring, assessing and improving the quality of healthcare. However, a lack of performance standards and measurement tools are an impediment to their implementation. This paper reports on the initial stages of development of a clinical audit tool for assessing the quality of primary health-care for Australian Indigenous youth aged 12-24 including mental health services provided within primary care. Methods: Audit items were determined through review of relevant guidelines, expert reference group consensus opinion and specific inclusion criteria. Pilot testing was undertaken at four Indigenous primary healthcare services. A focus group discussion involving five staff from a health service participating in pilot testing explored user experiences of the tool. Results: Audit items comprise key measures of processes and outcomes of care for Indigenous youth, as determined by the expert reference group. Gaps and conflicts in relevant guidelines and a lack of agreed performance indicators necessitated a tool development process that relied heavily on expert reference group advice and audit item inclusion criteria. Pilot testing and user feedback highlighted the importance of feasibility and context-specific considerations in tool development and design. Conclusions: The youth health audit tool provides a first step in monitoring, assessing and improving the way Indigenous primary healthcare services engage with and respond to the needs of youth. Our approach offers a way forward for further development of quality measures in the absence of clearly articulated standards of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17524458
- Volume :
- 9
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- International Journal of Mental Health Systems
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 108682243
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-015-0019-5