Child welfare worker perspectives on documentation and case recording practices in Canada: A mixed-methods study...

Area of Science:

• Child welfare research
• Health services research
• Data quality management

Background:

• Clinical records and case notes in child welfare are vital for policy development.
• Ensuring data accuracy and completeness is crucial for effective administrative data utilization.
• Concerns exist regarding data quality in Canada's national child welfare data initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify individual and institutional factors affecting how child welfare workers record client data in Canada.
• To determine data quality issues arising from documentation and case recording practices.
• To assess the impact of these practices on the use of clinical case management system data for public health statistics.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory mixed-methods study design.
• Online survey administered to child welfare workers.
• Purposive sampling for interviews and document review of case recording guidelines.

Main Results:

• The study will uncover strengths and limitations in current case recording and documentation practices.
• Potential sources of bias within child welfare data will be identified.
• Insights into factors influencing data recording by child welfare workers will be provided.

Conclusions:

• Understanding documentation practices is key to improving child welfare administrative data quality.
• Study results will inform the enhancement of national child welfare data in Canada.
• Findings will support evidence-based policy development and public health initiatives.