Topic One - a positive organisational culture
Motion: Treatment agencies are choking on national data reporting requirements at the expense of building rapport
For…
The demands for more and more data are a considerable burden on both practitioners and service users. It is unethical to collect information in pursuit of political or commercial advantage. Agencies should be able to collect the data they need to improve the service without this hindering talking to people.
Against…
The provision of addiction services is mainly funded by government; it is important to monitor how public money is spent and whether agencies are delivering the outcomes expected. All of the data required are useful for agencies to help improve outcomes. It is important to see where there is good practice and share nationally.
Of course, both sides of this debate have good points to make. Often service users are frustrated by the amount of information requested which seems to them irrelevant to their problem. To help your thinking about where the right balance lies, consider, in your own practice: what information do you need to help your service users make sense of their situation? What data do you collect that is likely to be unreliable? What data are helpful for planning service needs and delivery? Talk to people about how the information you wish to collect will be used.
The article cited below looked at what agencies did with the data that they collected. This summary of the research article should help you clarify your thoughts on the issues raised by the debate…
The researchers found that treatment agencies made data-driven decisions aiming to improve service user access to and retention in care. Factors associated with success and barriers to change are listed below.
The key to successful data driven service improvement
Agency leaders value data collection and commit resources to data management.
Staff training is provided to explain why data collection is important and what the data are to be used for.
Sharing of changes is achieved by data driven plans at staff meetings, posts on noticeboards or emails.
Locally available data are used to support audit projects and ensure feedback to all stakeholders
Barriers to data driven service improvement
When databases are not designed to follow the complexities of how local services work.
Expertise and resources to manage and analyse data are not available at a local level.
Staff believe that the data collection is not relevant and detracts from the business of delivering quality care.
Staff are concerned that data will be used against them and that the uniqueness of their agency will not be captured.
Find the full text of the articles here…
Wisdom JP, Ford JH, Hayes RA, Edmundson A, Hoffman K and McCarty D (2006) Addiction Treatment Agencies Use of Data: a Qualitative Assessment. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research. 33, 394-407 DOI: 10.1007/s11414-006-9039-x
What are your thoughts about what data should be asked for? How legitimate is data collection for political ends?
