Measuring External and Internal Demands for Quality Service:

Developing the Perceived Demands for Quality

Also called, "Assessing Actions to Assure (AAA) Quality Study"

 

Principal Investigator:  Curtis McMillen, PhD , PI

Funder: CMHSR funded pilot through NIMH - R24 MH50857

Timeframe: 7/04-12/04

Affiliation: Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR)

Project Staff: Bethany Lee, MSW, RA; Experts are: Greg Aarons, PhD; Charles Glisson, PhD; Barb Levine, PhD; Enola Proctor, PhD; Ed Spitznagel, PhD, Statistician.

Participating Organizations:

Project Contact:  Curtis McMillen, PhD, PI, (314) 935-7517
                             cmcmille@wustl.edu

 

Project Update as of 03/30/05:
Stage: Drafting of pilot findings for publication in progress.

 

Description:  This pilot study proposes to develop a measure of the internal and external demands for quality within social service organizations called the PDQ, the Perceived Demands for Quality. This brief document outlines the need for such a measure and the methods that will be used to develop it. This pilot work is designed to eventually lead to a reliable and valid measure of the Perceived Demands for Quality (PDQ) within an organization. The aim of this pilot work is to develop measures of the internal and external demands for quality that operate in an organizational setting.

 

I believe that, within any organization, there are measurable internal forces demanding (or not demanding) that employees deliver quality services. Administrators accent the delivery of quality service. Supervisors demand it from their front line workers.  Workers expect it of their peer workers.  We will develop items that tap into these internal influences on quality care.  I also believe that there are forces external to the immediate work area that influence worker’s motivation to provide high quality service. Boards of Directors, consumers, advocacy organizations, and funders can all exert pressures for high quality service. We will also develop items that tap into these internal influences on quality care.

 

Methods: Delphi methods with experts in organizational climate, culture, and quality service delivery were used to refine items that tap these domains of quality influences. Cognitive, think-aloud interviews with a small number of MSW students completing summer practica were conducted to assess how the items fare in real-world settings.  The PDQ was mailed to GWB practicum instructors who will be asked to anonymously complete the survey and return it to the researchers in stamped self-return envelopes. MSW students who were in a summer practicum will also be given surveys upon their return to GWB in the fall. Data was entered by CMHSR data staff and analyzed.  The team used factor analysis to explore the factor structure of the PDQ, as multiple factor structures can be hypothesized.  A revised version of the PDQ (if revisions are necessary) will be field tested in subsequent NIMH projects affiliated with the CMHSR. Alternatively, additional development work might be sought through NIMH or AHRQ funding.