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Performance measures for early psychosis treatment services
Donald Addington1, Emily McKenzie, Jean Addington
1Department of Psychiatry, the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. addingto@ucalgary.ca
Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)
|December 13, 2005
Summary
This study successfully identified essential performance measures for early psychosis treatment services using a comprehensive Delphi process. The findings demonstrate a feasible and cost-effective method for achieving stakeholder consensus on quality indicators.
Area of Science:
- Mental Health Services Research
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Identifying and agreeing upon performance measures is crucial for evaluating and improving early psychosis treatment services.
- Previous efforts lacked comprehensive approaches reflecting diverse stakeholder perspectives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of identifying performance measures for early psychosis treatment.
- To achieve consensus on these measures among multiple stakeholders in Canada.
Main Methods:
- A two-stage approach combining a literature review (1995-2002) and expert consultation.
- Utilized the Delphi process with 20 stakeholders from seven groups over three questionnaire rounds.
- Assessed consensus using the semi-interquartile range.
Main Results:
- Identified 73 potential performance measures from the literature and expert input.
- The Delphi method narrowed the list to 24 essential measures.
- The process was found to be feasible and cost-effective.
Conclusions:
- The Delphi technique effectively facilitated consensus among diverse stakeholders.
- The resulting 24 performance measures represent the interests of all involved groups.
- This methodology provides a reproducible framework for developing consensus-based quality indicators in mental health services.