Evaluating quality of patient care communication in integrated care settings: a mixed method approach

• Published in: International journal for quality in health care Vol. 19; no. 5; pp. 281 - 288
• Main Authors: Gulmans, J., Vollenbroek-Hutten, M.M.R., Van Gemert-Pijnen, J.E.W.C., Van Harten, W.H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.10.2007; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Bibliometrics; cerebral palsy; Cerebral Palsy - psychology; Cerebral Palsy - therapy; Child; communication; Continuity of Patient Care; Delivery of Health Care, Integrated - organization & administration; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Focus Groups; health care evaluation mechanisms; Health Services Research; Humans; Interdisciplinary Communication; Netherlands; patient care management; Patient Satisfaction; Professional-Patient Relations; PubMed; Quality of Health Care; Surveys and Questionnaires; Netherlands; cerebral palsy; communication; health care evaluation mechanisms; patient care management
• ISSN: 1353-4505; 1464-3677
• DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzm029

AbstractBackground Owing to the involvement of multiple professionals from various institutions, integrated care settings are prone to suboptimal patient care communication. To assure continuity, communication gaps should be identified for targeted improvement initiatives. However, available assessment methods are often one-sided evaluations not appropriate for integrated care settings. Objective We developed an evaluation approach that takes into account the multiple communication links and evaluation perspectives inherent to these settings. In this study, we describe this approach, using the integrated care setting of Cerebral Palsy as illustration. Methods/Results The approach follows a three-step mixed design in which the results of each step are used to mark out the subsequent step's focus. The first step patient questionnaire aims to identify quality gaps experienced by patients, comparing their expectancies and experiences with respect to patient–professional and inter-professional communication. Resulting gaps form the input of in-depth interviews with a subset of patients to evaluate underlying factors of ineffective communication. Resulting factors form the input of the final step's focus group meetings with professionals to corroborate and complete the findings. Conclusions By combining methods, the presented approach aims to minimize limitations inherent to the application of single methods. The comprehensiveness of the approach enables its applicability in various integrated care settings. Its sequential design allows for in-depth evaluation of relevant quality gaps. Further research is needed to evaluate the approach's feasibility in practice. In our subsequent study, we present the results of the approach in the integrated care setting of children with Cerebral Palsy in three Dutch care regions.