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Title:   Developing a Population Needs Based Approach to Health Systems Research and Evaluation

 

Principal Investigators:   

 

Jeanne Besner, HSWRU Calgary Health Region

Kevin Gerrits, HSWRU Calgary Health Region

Karen Jackson, HSWRU Calgary Health Region

Steve Friesen, HSWRU Calgary Health Region

 

Funding Source:  This is an ongoing initiative supported within the Calgary Health Region

 

Presentations/Publications/Updates:  

 

Background:

 

The primary focus of this work is to generate indicators that enable descriptions of the populations receiving health care services and the contexts within which care is delivered using existing data sources.  Information that describes patients, providers and systems is integral to evidence based decisions. A thorough understanding of the health needs of the population served and of contextual factors influencing patient, provider and systems outcomes is needed to plan and evaluate workforce utilization and health care system redesign.

 

Objectives:

 

The objective of this initiative is to exploit existing local, provincial and national data sources to better inform and assess evidence based changes to the health system.

 

Methods:

 

The conceptual framework that guides development of our program of research highlights the importance of characterizing the population for which services are provided, to ensure that the skills and knowledge of staff and the staffing model are adequate to meet the health needs of people.  Population profiles have been created for medical/surgical units using existing data (e.g. from administrative/corporate databases, national surveys, etc) including basic demographics, health system utilization patterns, medical diagnosis and proxies for SES.  In attempting to describe health needs of unit populations key patient characteristics (e.g. complexity, age, social and economic context, etc) are identified and further explored to help guide staffing or system design decisions.  

 

A notable attribute in the application of this approach is the input required from members of the interprofessional team on each unit to ensure the usefulness and value of the information to service providers and frontline managers.  Their input and feedback plays an instrumental role in confirming the utility of patient profiles in making decisions about staffing and service delivery models.

 

 

Time Frame: This is an ongoing initiative

 

Contact Information:

 

Jeanne Besner, (403) 943-0188 jeanne.besner@albertahealthservices.ca

or Kevin Gerrits (403) 943-0541 kevin.gerrits@albertahealthservices.ca