Top

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research

Published in:

01-07-2013 | Original Article

The Use of a Participatory Approach to Develop a Framework for Assessing Quality of Care in Children’s Mental Health Services

Authors: Amy C. Vargo, Patty J. Sharrock, Melissa H. Johnson, Mary I. Armstrong

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 4/2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for assessing the quality of children’s mental health services that reflects the primary concerns and perspectives of diverse stakeholders. A participatory research approach was adopted in order to incorporate caregivers of children with mental health problems, mental health service providers, and managed care administrators in identifying and developing quality of care indicators and methods for assessment. This research occurred in three phases that moved from very qualitative and exploratory to more quantitative as we sought to refine and verify the resulting Quality of Care Framework. We found that the use of a participatory approach was beneficial in ensuring the validity of research tools and utility of the framework, and also greatly increased the sense of ownership of research findings among participants.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (1998). Best principles for measuring outcomes in managed care Medicaid programs: How decision-makers can monitor quality of care. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?section=Practice+Information&name=Best+Principles+for+Measuring+Outcomes+in+Managed+Care+Medicaid+Programs#authors.

American Psychiatric Association. (2002a). Quick reference to the American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders: Compendium 2002. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

American Psychiatric Association. (2002b). Report of the American psychiatric association task force on quality indicators for children. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Boothroyd, R. A., & Shern, D. L. (1998). Preliminary findings of the member survey component: Evaluation of Florida’s prepaid mental health plan-interim report. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Brannan, A. M., & Heflinger, C. A. (2005). Child behavioral health service use and caregiver strain: Comparison of managed care and fee-for-service Medicaid systems. Mental Health Services Research, 7(4), 197–211.CrossRef

Burns, B. J. (1996). What drives outcomes for emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents? New Directions for Mental Health Services, 71, 89–102.PubMedCrossRef

Cook, J. A., Heflinger, C. A., Hoven, C. A., Kelleher, K. J., Mulkern, V., Paulson, R. I., et al. (2004). A multi-site study of Medicaid-funded managed care versus fee-for-service plans’ effects on mental health service utilization of children with severe emotional disturbance. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 31(4), 384–402.PubMed

Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science and Medicine, 41(12), 1667–1676.PubMedCrossRef

de Koning, K., & Martin, M. (1996). Participatory research in health: Setting the context. In K. de Koning & M. Martin (Eds.), Participatory research in health: Issues and experiences (pp. 1–18). London: Zed Books.

Dickey, B. (2001). Measuring quality: An overview. In B. Dickey & L. I. Sederer (Eds.), Improving mental health care: Commitment to quality (pp. 77–88). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Donabedian, A. (1980). Explorations in quality assessment and monitoring: The definition of quality and approaches to its assessment (Vol. I). Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press.

Eisen, S. V., Shaul, J. A., Clarridge, B., Nelson, D., Spink, J., & Cleary, P. D. (1999). Development of a consumer survey for behavioral health services. Psychiatric Services, 50(6), 793–798.PubMed

Fals-Borda, O. (2001). Participatory (action) research in social theory: Origins and challenges. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research (pp. 27–37). London: Sage.

Fontanella, C. A., Zuravin, S. J., & Burry, C. L. (2006). The effect of a Medicaid managed care program on patterns of psychiatric readmission among adolescents: Evidence rom Maryland. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 33(1), 39–52.PubMedCrossRef

Green, L. W., & Mercer, S. L. (2001). Can public health researchers and agencies reconcile the push from funding bodies and the pull from communities? American Journal of Public Health, 91(12), 1926–1929.PubMedCrossRef

Hermann, R. C., Leff, H. S., & Lagodmos, G. (2002). Selecting process measures for quality improvement in mental healthcare (PN-47). Cambridge, MA: The Evaluation Center@ HSRI. Retrieved January 31, 2007 from http://www.hsri.org/docs/pn47.pdf.

Hermann, R. C., Palmer, H., Leff, S., Shwartz, M., Provost, S., Chan, J., et al. (2004). Achieving consensus across diverse stakeholders on quality measures for mental healthcare. Medical Care, 42(12), 1246–1253.PubMedCrossRef

Hutchinson, A. B., & Foster, M. (2003). The effect of Medicaid managed care of mental health care for children: A review of the literature. Mental Health Services Research, 5(1), 39–54.PubMedCrossRef

Israel, B. A., Parker, E. A., Rowe, Z., Salvatore, A., Minkler, M., Lopez, J., et al. (2005). Community-based participatory research: Lessons learned from the centers for children’s environmental health and disease prevention research. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(10), 1463–1471.PubMedCrossRef

Martin, J. S., Petr, C. G., & Kapp, S. A. (2003). Consumer satisfaction with children’s mental health services. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(3), 211–226.CrossRef

McGlynn, E. A. (1997). Six challenges in measuring the quality of health care. Health Affairs, 16(3), 7–21.PubMedCrossRef

Minkler, M. (2000). Using participatory action research to build healthy communities. Public Health Reports, 115, 191–197.PubMedCrossRef

Ruble, L. A., Heflinger, C. A., Renfrew, J. W., & Saunders, R. C. (2005). Access and service use by children with autism spectrum disorders in Medicaid managed care. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(1), 3–13.PubMedCrossRef

Salant, P., & Dillman, D. A. (1994). How to conduct your own survey. New York, NY: Wiley.

Saunders, R. C., & Heflinger, C. A. (2003). Access to and patterns of use of behavioral health services among children and adolescents in TennCare. Psychiatric Services, 54(10), 1364–1371.PubMedCrossRef

Sharrock, P., Vargo, A., Vergon, K., Roggenbaum, S., Boothroyd, R., & LeBlanc, A. (2007). The children’s quality of care study FY06-07: A study of the quality of children’s behavioral health services within Florida’s behavioral health managed care plans. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Shield, T., Campbell, S., Rogers, A., Worrall, A., Chew-Graham, C., & Gask, K. (2003). Quality indicators for primary care mental health services. Quality & Safety in Health Care, 12, 100–106.CrossRef

Small, S. A. (1995). Action-oriented research: Models and methods. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57(4), 941–955.CrossRef

Stroul, B. A., & Friedman, R. M. (1988). Caring for severely disturbed children and youth: Principles for a system of care. Children Today, 17(4), 11–15.PubMed

Tang, M. H., Hill, K. S., Boudreau, A. A., Yucel, R. M., Perrin, J. M., & Kuhlthau, K. A. (2008). Medicaid managed care and the unmet need for mental health care among children with special health care needs. Health Services Research, 43(3), 882–900.PubMedCrossRef

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS]. (1996). The MHSIP consumer-oriented mental health report card: The final report of the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) task force on a consumer-oriented mental health report card. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Mental Health Information Center. Retrieved May 4, 2005 from http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/MC96-60/default.asp.

Vargo, A., Sharrock, P., Pedrazza, J., Dhont, K., Armstrong, M., Boothroyd, R., et al. (2005). A study of the quality of children’s behavioral health services within Florida’s behavioral health managed care plans. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Vargo, A., Sharrock, P., Pedrazza, J., Reyes, F., Roggenbaum, S., & Kershaw, M. (2006). A study of the quality of children’s behavioral health services within Florida’s behavioral health managed care plans. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Vargo, A., Sharrock, P., Robinson, P., Boothroyd, R., Armstrong, M., Batsche, C., et al. (2008). Evaluation of Florida’s child welfare prepaid mental health plan (CW-PMHP): Year 2 final report . Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Vargo, A., Sharrock, P., Robinson, P., Boothroyd, R., Batsche, C., Lardieri, S., et al. (2009). Evaluation of Florida’s child welfare prepaid mental health plan (CW-PMHP): Year 3. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.

Wallerstein, N., & Duran, B. (2003). The conceptual, historical, and practice roots of community based participatory research and related participatory traditions. In M. Minkler & N. Wallerstein (Eds.), Community based participatory research in health (pp. 27–52). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wallerstein, N., & Duran, B. (2006). Using community-based participatory research to address health disparities. Health Promotion Practice, 7(3), 312–323.PubMedCrossRef

Zima, B. T., Hurlburt, M. S., Knapp, P., Ladd, H., Tang, L., Duan, N., et al. (2005). Quality of publicly funded outpatient specialty mental health care for common childhood psychiatric disorders in California. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(2), 130–144.PubMedCrossRef

Zima, B., Bussing, R., Tang, L., Zhang, L., Ettner, S., Belin, T., et al. (2010). Quality of care for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a managed care medicaid program. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(12), 1225–1237.

Zima, B., & Mangione-Smith, R. (2011). Gaps in quality measures for child mental health care: An opportunity for a collaborative agenda. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(8), 735–737.CrossRef

Title: The Use of a Participatory Approach to Develop a Framework for Assessing Quality of Care in Children’s Mental Health Services
Authors: Amy C. Vargo
Patty J. Sharrock
Melissa H. Johnson
Mary I. Armstrong
Publication date: 01-07-2013
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-012-0419-7

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The Use of a Participatory Approach to Develop a Framework for Assessing Quality of Care in Children’s Mental Health Services

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2013

Substance Use Disorder Counselors’ Job Performance and Turnover after 1 Year: Linear or Curvilinear Relationship?

Measuring Use of Evidence Based Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Community and School Mental Health Professionals’ Knowledge and Use of Evidence Based Substance Use Prevention Programs

Mobile Technologies Among People with Serious Mental Illness: Opportunities for Future Services

Using Social Network Analysis for Assessing Mental Health and Social Services Inter-Organisational Collaboration: Findings in Deprived Areas in Brussels and London

The Individual Mandate, Mental Health Parity, and the Obama Health Plan