Abstract
This international initiative sought to develop a consensus framework of mental health quality measures. The 656 quality measures identified via literature review were narrowed to 36 measurement concepts. A modified Delphi process was used to rate these for validity, importance, and feasibility. The highest rated concepts for validity and importance included 7-day follow-up after inpatient discharge, involuntary/compulsory hospitalization, seclusion, death rates, medication adherence, medication errors, and restraint. Importance and validity scores were correlated, with importance scores higher than validity scores. Further work is needed to develop and implement a core set of measures for international comparison of mental health quality.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following members of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) Clinical Leaders Group Mental Health Quality Indicator Project for their assistance with this project: Peggy Brown, Alan Rosen, Ruth Vine, Tom Callaly, Peter McGeorge (Australia), David Goldbloom, Rohan Ganguli, Catherine Zahn, Paul Kurdyak (Canada), Hugh Griffiths, Susan O'Connor (England), Wolfgang Gaebel, Jürgen Zielasek (Germany), Martin Rogan, Ian Daly (Ireland), Hiroto Ito (Japan), Jan Tromp, Paul Spronken (Netherlands), Memo Musa, David Chaplow, Lyndy Matthews (New Zealand), Torleif Ruud (Norway), Moira Connolly (Scotland), Joseph J. Cheng (Taiwan), Joe Parks, Ken Thompson, Kevin Hennessy, Pete Delaney (United States). Funding for this work was received by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additional funding came from government and nongovernment organizations of the countries participating in the IIMHL project (Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Taiwan, and the United States). Funding for Dr. Parameswaran was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars ® program and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
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Parameswaran, S.G., Spaeth-Rublee, B. & Pincus, H.A. Measuring the Quality of Mental Health Care: Consensus Perspectives from Selected Industrialized Countries. Adm Policy Ment Health 42, 288–295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0569-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0569-x