Learning across integrated care services
Quality of integrated youth care services under the microscope
What can we learn from care trajectories that lead to complex case histories and specialist youth care? Our aim is to answer this question together with parents, young people, professionals and policy makers. Armed with current knowledge, we assess what went well and what needs to improve.
We define points for improvement and create momentum for learning and enhancement in the region.
Background
Various small-scale research studies have been conducted in recent years suggesting that, prior to the deployment of specialist and highly intensive youth care, the problems experienced by some young people and their families have received too little attention and insufficient expert analysis. This contributed to a failure to implement appropriate effective interventions or to implement them on time, in too many cases.
This is an undesirable development that needs to be addressed. Together with the Specialist Youth Care Sectors (BGZJ), the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi), the knowledge centres for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (KJP) and Minor Intellectual Disabilities (LVB), and the Care Landscape Research Support Team, Accare therefore co-wrote a research proposal in 2018 and requested funding from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The aim is to study the quality of integrated healthcare services in complex case histories, through regional partnerships. The funding was awarded and the research study started in 2019.
The study in four phases
In the first phase, we develop the method by which we will analyse all of the information we will collect. We also prepare a research proposal and design for a national database to collect the outcomes of case reviews. A case review is a care trajectory that has been discussed with all parties involved. It begins with an interview with the young person (and parents). Next, this information is discussed with the young person, parents and practitioners involved. And, finally, lessons to be learned from the experiences are reviewed in a reflective session involving just the practitioners.
In the second phase, a total of 75 case reviews are discussed in 5 regions (15 per region), data are recorded in the database and an initial regional learning session is organised per region (after around 10 case reviews). In the learning sessions, we look for any quick wins that can be implemented immediately. These are recorded in an action plan or development plan.
In the third phase, we collect the data from all regions and feed these back in two more regional learning sessions. In the first session, we monitor the outcomes of the initial development actions. We also discuss the outcomes of all 15 case reviews and elaborate on the development plan. The purpose of the second session is to feed back on the outcomes from all regions and agree how and what can be enhanced or changed.
The final phase involves reporting of the research study outcomes (substance and process). In partnership with the knowledge centres, we will integrate the new knowledge in existing knowledge sources and establish how we can structurally embed the lessons learned within the regions.
Collaboration
This research study is conducted in collaboration with the Bascule, Spirit, Karakter, Curium and Horizon.