An Evaluated Network
As one of the quality improvement
initiatives at the CCQI the newly developed Network for
Low Secure Services will undergo an evaluation study to assess
the impact of membership of the network on the quality of care
delivered by the service members.
Details of the evaluation
Members of the Quality Network for Low Secure Services will
automatically enter this evaluation and will be randomly assigned
to either the intervention group or the control group.
- The intervention group will join the 2012-13 annual cycle while
the control group join in 2013-14.
- Before and after the study both groups will be evaluated in
relation to a selection of key standards.
- This evaluation will consist of a short survey to be completed
by the staff members and service users about the care provided
by the unit.
- In addition, the managers will be interviewed about the
policies in place and the service’s running costs.
- An independent researcher from the CCQI will conduct this
assessment at a date and time convenient to the service.
Once the intervention group completes their annual cycle its
compliance to a selection of key standards will be compared with
that of the control group to determine if network membership
results in a significant enhancement of the quality of care
delivered by the service members.
All the units that will take part in the Low
Secure Quality Network will go through every stage of the normal
annual cycle (self-review, peer-review, local report, annual report
and annual forum) and the evaluation study will not change the way
the network operates to facilitate the sharing of good practice
amongst the members.
The only differences resulting from the evaluation of the network
are that:
- Additional information will
be collected by research staff at CCQI on two occasions
during the first year of the project, and
- As a result of the
randomization process half of the units recruited will start their
cycle 12 months later.
Implications of the study
The services that join the network will
contribute to a valuable initiative that will provide evidence on
the impact of quality network membership on the care delivered by
the service members.
For further information about the evaluation
study please contact Dr. Lina Aimola Laimola@cru.rcpsych.ac.uk
(Tel. 020 7977 6649).
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