The quality of care delivered to residents in long-term care in Australia: an indicator-based review of resident records (CareTrack Aged study).

BACKGROUND: This study estimated the prevalence of evidence-based care received by a population-based sample of Australian residents in long-term care (LTC) aged ≥ 65 years in 2021, measured by adherence to clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations. METHODS: Sixteen conditions/processes of care amendable to estimating evidence-based care at a population level were identified from prevalence data and CPGs. Candidate recommendations (n = 5609) were extracted from 139 CPGs which were converted to indicators. National experts in each condition rated the indicators via the RAND-UCLA Delphi process. For the 16 conditions, 236 evidence-based care indicators were ratified. A multi-stage sampling of LTC facilities and residents was undertaken. Trained aged-care nurses then undertook manual structured record reviews of care delivered between 1 March and 31 May 2021 (our record review period) to assess adherence with the indicators. RESULTS: Care received by 294 residents with 27,585 care encounters in 25 LTC facilities was evaluated. Residents received care for one to thirteen separate clinical conditions/processes of care (median = 10, mean = 9.7). Adherence to evidence-based care indicators was estimated at 53.2% (95% CI: 48.6, 57.7) ranging from a high of 81.3% (95% CI: 75.6, 86.3) for Bladder and Bowel to a low of 12.2% (95% CI: 1.6, 36.8) for Depression. Six conditions (skin integrity, end-of-life care, infection, sleep, medication, and depression) had less than 50% adherence with indicators. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of adherence to evidence-based care for people in LTC using multiple conditions and a standardised method. Vulnerable older people are not receiving evidence-based care for many physical problems, nor care to support their mental health nor for end-of-life care. The six conditions in which adherence with indicators was less than 50% could be the focus of improvement efforts.

Comparing rates of adverse events detected in incident reporting and the Global Trigger Tool: a systematic review.

Many hospitals continue to use incident reporting systems (IRSs) as their primary patient safety data source. The information IRSs collect on the frequency of harm to patients [adverse events (AEs)] is generally of poor quality, and some incident types (e.g. diagnostic errors) are under-reported. Other methods of collecting patient safety information using medical record review, such as the Global Trigger Tool (GTT), have been developed. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review to empirically quantify the gap between the percentage of AEs detected using the GTT to those that are also detected via IRSs. The review was conducted in adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Studies published in English, which collected AE data using the GTT and IRSs, were included. In total, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies were undertaken in hospitals and were published between 2006 and 2022. The studies were conducted in six countries, mainly in the USA (nine studies). Studies reviewed 22 589 medical records using the GTT across 107 institutions finding 7166 AEs. The percentage of AEs detected using the GTT that were also detected in corresponding IRSs ranged from 0% to 37.4% with an average of 7.0% (SD 9.1; median 3.9 and IQR 5.2). Twelve of the fourteen studies found <10% of the AEs detected using the GTT were also found in corresponding IRSs. The >10-fold gap between the detection rates of the GTT and IRSs is strong evidence that the rate of AEs collected in IRSs in hospitals should not be used to measure or as a proxy for the level of safety of a hospital. IRSs should be recognized for their strengths which are to detect rare, serious, and new incident types and to enable analysis of contributing and contextual factors to develop preventive and corrective strategies. Health systems should use multiple patient safety data sources to prioritize interventions and promote a cycle of action and improvement based on data rather than merely just collecting and analysing information.

Unsafe care in residential settings for older adults: a content analysis of accreditation reports.

Residents of aged care services can experience safety incidents resulting in preventable serious harm. Accreditation is a commonly used strategy to improve the quality of care; however, narrative information within accreditation reports is not generally analysed as a source of safety information to inform learning. In Australia, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), the sector regulator, undertakes over 500 accreditation assessments of residential aged care services against eight national standards every year. From these assessments, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission generates detailed Site Audit Reports. In over one-third (37%) of Site Audit Reports, standards relating to Personal and Clinical Care (Standard 3) are not being met. The aim of this study was to identify the types of resident Safety Risks that relate to Personal and Clinical Care Standards not being met during accreditation or re-accreditation. These data could inform priority setting at policy, regulatory, and service levels. An analytical framework was developed based on the World Health Organization's International Classification for Patient Safety and other fields including Clinical Issue (the issue related to the incident impacting the resident, e.g. wound/skin or pain). Information relating to safety incidents in the Site Audit Reports was extracted, and a content analysis undertaken using the analytical framework. Clinical Issue and the International Classification for Patient Safety-based classification were combined to describe a clinically intuitive category ('Safety Risks') to describe ways in which residents could experience unsafe care, e.g. diagnosis/assessment of pain. The resulting data were descriptively analysed. The analysis included 65 Site Audit Reports that were undertaken between September 2020 and March 2021. There were 2267 incidents identified and classified into 274 types of resident Safety Risks. The 12 most frequently occurring Safety Risks account for only 32.3% of all incidents. Relatively frequently occurring Safety Risks were organisation management of infection control; diagnosis/assessment of pain, restraint, resident behaviours, and falls; and multiple stages of wounds/skin management, e.g. diagnosis/assessment, documentation, treatment, and deterioration. The analysis has shown that accreditation reports contain valuable data that may inform prioritization of resident Safety Risks in the Australian residential aged care sector. A large number of low-frequency resident Safety Risks were detected in the accreditation reports. To address these, organizations may use implementation science approaches to facilitate evidence-based strategies to improve the quality of care delivered to residents. Improving the aged care workforces' clinical skills base may address some of the Safety Risks associated with diagnosis/assessment and wound management.

Designing clinical indicators for common residential aged care conditions and processes of care: the CareTrack Aged development and validation study.

BACKGROUND: People who live in aged care homes have high rates of illness and frailty. Providing evidence-based care to this population is vital to ensure the highest possible quality of life. OBJECTIVE: In this study (CareTrack Aged, CT Aged), we aimed to develop a comprehensive set of clinical indicators for guideline-adherent, appropriate care of commonly managed conditions and processes in aged care. METHODS: Indicators were formulated from recommendations found through systematic searches of Australian and international clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Experts reviewed the indicators using a multiround modified Delphi process to develop a consensus on what constitutes appropriate care. RESULTS: From 139 CPGs, 5609 recommendations were used to draft 630 indicators. Clinical experts (n = 41) reviewed the indicators over two rounds. A final set of 236 indicators resulted, mapped to 16 conditions and processes of care. The conditions and processes were admission assessment; bladder and bowel problems; cognitive impairment; depression; dysphagia and aspiration; end of life/palliative care; hearing and vision; infection; medication; mobility and falls; nutrition and hydration; oral and dental care; pain; restraint use; skin integrity and sleep. CONCLUSIONS: The suite of CT Aged clinical indicators can be used for research and assessment of the quality of care in individual facilities and across organizations to guide improvement and to supplement regulation or accreditation of the aged care sector. They are a step forward for Australian and international aged care sectors, helping to improve transparency so that the level of care delivered to aged care consumers can be rigorously monitored and continuously improved.

Assessing appropriateness of paediatric asthma management: A population-based sample survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We conducted a comprehensive assessment of guideline adherence in paediatric asthma care, including inpatient and ambulatory services, in Australia. METHODS: National and international clinical practice guidelines (CPG) relating to asthma in children were searched and 39 medical record audit indicator questions were developed. Retrospective medical record review was conducted across hospital inpatient admissions, emergency department (ED) presentations, general practice (GP) and paediatrician consultations in three Australian states for children aged ≤15 years receiving care in 2012 and 2013. Eligibility of, and adherence to, indicators was assessed from medical records by nine experienced and purpose-trained paediatric nurses (surveyors). RESULTS: Surveyors conducted 18 453 asthma indicator assessments across 1600 visits for 881 children in 129 locations. Overall, the adherence for asthma care across the 39 indicators was 58.1%, with 54.4% adherence at GP (95% CI: 46.0-62.5), 77.7% by paediatricians (95% CI: 40.5-97.0), 79.9% in ED (95% CI: 70.6-87.3) and 85.1% for inpatient care (95% CI: 76.7-91.5). For 14 acute asthma indicators, overall adherence was 56.3% (95% CI: 47.6-64.7). Lowest adherences were for recording all four types of vital signs in children aged >2 years presenting with asthma attack (15.1%, 95% CI: 8.7-23.7), and reviewing patients' compliance, inhaler technique and triggers prior to commencing a new drug therapy (20.5%, 95% CI: 10.1-34.8). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated differences between existing care and CPG recommendations for paediatric asthma care in Australia. Evidence-based interventions to improve adherence to CPG may help to standardize quality of paediatric asthma care and reduce variation of care.

The quality of preventive care for pre-school aged children in Australian general practice.

BACKGROUND: Variable and poor care quality are important causes of preventable patient harm. Many patients receive less than recommended care, but the extent of the problem remains largely unknown. The CareTrack Kids (CTK) research programme sought to address this evidence gap by developing a set of indicators to measure the quality of care for common paediatric conditions. In this study, we focus on one clinical area, 'preventive care' for pre-school aged children. Our objectives were two-fold: (i) develop and validate preventive care quality indicators and (ii) apply them in general medical practice to measure adherence. METHODS: Clinical experts (n = 6) developed indicator questions (IQs) from clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations using a multi-stage modified Delphi process, which were pilot tested in general practice. The medical records of Australian children (n = 976) from general practices (n = 80) in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia identified as having a consultation for one of 17 CTK conditions of interest were retrospectively reviewed by trained paediatric nurses. Statistical analyses were performed to estimate percentage compliance and its 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: IQs (n = 43) and eight care 'bundles' were developed and validated. Care was delivered in line with the IQs in 43.3% of eligible healthcare encounters (95% CI 30.5-56.7). The bundles of care with the highest compliance were 'immunisation' (80.1%, 95% CI 65.7-90.4), 'anthropometric measurements' (52.7%, 95% CI 35.6-69.4) and 'nutrition assessments' (38.5%, 95% CI 24.3-54.3), and lowest for 'visual assessment' (17.9%, 95% CI 8.2-31.9), 'musculoskeletal examinations' (24.4%, 95% CI 13.1-39.1) and 'cardiovascular examinations' (30.9%, 95% CI 12.3-55.5). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first known attempt to develop specific preventive care quality indicators and measure their delivery to Australian children in general practice. Our findings that preventive care is not reliably delivered to all Australian children and that there is substantial variation in adherence with the IQs provide a starting point for clinicians, researchers and policy makers when considering how the gap between recommended and actual care may be narrowed. The findings may also help inform the development of specific improvement interventions, incentives and national standards.

Assessing the quality of care for paediatric depression and anxiety in Australia: A population-based sample survey.

OBJECTIVE: We examine the prevalence of quality care (as measured by adherence to recommendations in clinical practice guidelines) for Australian paediatric patients (⩽15 years) with depression and/or anxiety, using data from the CareTrack Kids study; a population-based study of the quality of healthcare practice in inpatient and ambulatory healthcare settings. METHODS: A multistage stratified sample identified records of 6689 children. Of these, 156 records were identified for depression and 356 for anxiety. These were assessed for adherence to 15 depression and 13 anxiety indicators, respectively, using a review of medical records. RESULTS: Adherence to assessment and management guidelines was low for both conditions: assessment bundle (depression = 33%, 95% confidence interval = [20, 48]; anxiety = 54%, 95% confidence interval = [43, 64] and depression management bundle = 35%, 95% confidence interval = [15, 60]). Across both conditions, the highest adherence was recorded for indicators that addressed prescription of medications (e.g. venlafaxine, 100%; benzodiazepines, 100%; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, 94% and antidepressants, 91%), while compliance was the lowest for ensuring children with depression had an emergency safety plan (44%), informing parents of the risks and benefits of prescribed anxiety medication (51%) and assessment for other causes (59% for depression; 68% for anxiety). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that strategies are needed to improve guideline adherence for mental health disorders in children and adolescents, particularly among general practitioners. Learning from these indicators could inform clinical prompts in electronic medical records, as well as links to additional information, to assist in decision-making and streamline work practices.

Assessing the adherence to guidelines in the management of croup in Australian children: a population-based sample survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which care received by Australian children presenting with croup is in agreement with Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs). DESIGN: Retrospective population-based sample survey. Croup clinical indicators were derived from CPGs. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Medical records from three healthcare settings were sampled for selected visits in 2012 and 2013 in three Australian states. DATA COLLECTION: Data were collected by nine experienced paediatric nurses, trained to assess eligibility for indicator assessment and adherence to CPGs. Surveyors undertook criterion-based medical record reviews using an electronic data collection tool. RESULTS: Documented guideline adherence was lower for general practitioners (65.9%; 95% CI: 60.8-70.6) than emergency departments (91.1%; 95% CI: 89.5-92.5) and inpatient admissions (91.3%; 95% CI: 88.1-93.9). Overall adherence was very low for a bundle of 10 indicators related to assessment (4.5%; 95% CI: 2.4-7.6) but higher for a bundle of four indicators relating to the avoidance of inappropriate therapy (83.1%; 95% CI: 59.5-96.0). CONCLUSIONS: Most visits for croup were characterized by appropriate treatment in all healthcare settings. However, most children had limited documented clinical assessments, and some had unnecessary tests or inappropriate therapy, which has potential quality and cost implications. Universal CPG and clinical assessment tools may increase clinical consistency.

Quality of Health Care for Children in Australia, 2012-2013.

Importance: The quality of routine care for children is rarely assessed, and then usually in single settings or for single clinical conditions. Objective: To estimate the quality of health care for children in Australia in inpatient and ambulatory health care settings. Design, Setting, and Participants: Multistage stratified sample with medical record review to assess adherence with quality indicators extracted from clinical practice guidelines for 17 common, high-burden clinical conditions (noncommunicable [n = 5], mental health [n = 4], acute infection [n = 7], and injury [n = 1]), such as asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, tonsillitis, and head injury. For these 17 conditions, 479 quality indicators were identified, with the number varying by condition, ranging from 9 for eczema to 54 for head injury. Four hundred medical records were targeted for sampling for each of 15 conditions while 267 records were targeted for anxiety and 133 for depression. Within each selected medical record, all visits for the 17 targeted conditions were identified, and separate quality assessments made for each. Care was evaluated for 6689 children 15 years of age and younger who had 15 240 visits to emergency departments, for inpatient admissions, or to pediatricians and general practitioners in selected urban and rural locations in 3 Australian states. These visits generated 160 202 quality indicator assessments. Exposures: Quality indicators were identified through a systematic search of local and international guidelines. Individual indicators were extracted from guidelines and assessed using a 2-stage Delphi process. Main Outcomes and Measures: Quality of care for each clinical condition and overall. Results: Of 6689 children with surveyed medical records, 53.6% were aged 0 to 4 years and 55.5% were male. Adherence to quality of care indicators was estimated at 59.8% (95% CI, 57.5%-62.0%; n = 160 202) across the 17 conditions, ranging from a high of 88.8% (95% CI, 83.0%-93.1%; n = 2638) for autism to a low of 43.5% (95% CI, 36.8%-50.4%; n = 2354) for tonsillitis. The mean adherence by condition category was estimated as 60.5% (95% CI, 57.2%-63.8%; n = 41 265) for noncommunicable conditions (range, 52.8%-75.8%); 82.4% (95% CI, 79.0%-85.5%; n = 14 622) for mental health conditions (range, 71.5%-88.8%); 56.3% (95% CI, 53.2%-59.4%; n = 94 037) for acute infections (range, 43.5%-69.8%); and 78.3% (95% CI, 75.1%-81.2%; n = 10 278) for injury. Conclusions and Relevance: Among a sample of children receiving care in Australia in 2012-2013, the overall prevalence of adherence to quality of care indicators for important conditions was not high. For many of these conditions, the quality of care may be inadequate.

The application of the Global Trigger Tool: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: This study describes the use of, and modifications and additions made to, the Global Trigger Tool (GTT) since its first release in 2003, and summarizes its findings with respect to counting and characterizing adverse events (AEs). DATA SOURCES: Peer-reviewed literature up to 31st December 2014. STUDY SELECTION: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors extracted and compiled the demographics, methodologies and results of the selected studies. RESULTS OF DATA SYNTHESIS: Of the 48 studies meeting the eligibility criteria, 44 collected data from inpatient medical records and four from general practice records. Studies were undertaken in 16 countries. Over half did not follow the standard GTT protocol regarding the number of reviewers used. 'Acts of omission' were included in one quarter of studies. Incident reporting detected between 2% and 8% of AEs that were detected with the GTT. Rates of AEs varied in general inpatient studies between 7% and 40%. Infections, problems with surgical procedures and medication were the most common incident types. CONCLUSION: The GTT is a flexible tool used in a range of settings with varied applications. Substantial differences in AE rates were evident across studies, most likely associated with methodological differences and disparate reviewer interpretations. AE rates should not be compared between institutions or studies. Recommendations include adding 'omission' AEs, using preventability scores for priority setting, and re-framing the GTT's purpose to understand and characterize AEs rather than just counting them.

Improving health system responses when patients are harmed: a protocol for a multistage mixed-methods study.

INTRODUCTION: At least 10% of hospital admissions in high-income countries, including Australia, are associated with patient safety incidents, which contribute to patient harm ('adverse events'). When a patient is seriously harmed, an investigation or review is undertaken to reduce the risk of further incidents occurring. Despite 20 years of investigations into adverse events in healthcare, few evaluations provide evidence of their quality and effectiveness in reducing preventable harm.This study aims to develop consistent, informed and robust best practice guidance, at state and national levels, that will improve the response, learning and health system improvements arising from adverse events. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The setting will be healthcare organisations in Australian public health systems in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. We will apply a multistage mixed-methods research design with evaluation and in-situ feasibility testing. This will include literature reviews (stage 1), an assessment of the quality of 300 adverse event investigation reports from participating hospitals (stage 2), and a policy/procedure document review from participating hospitals (stage 3) as well as focus groups and interviews on perspectives and experiences of investigations with healthcare staff and consumers (stage 4). After triangulating results from stages 1-4, we will then codesign tools and guidance for the conduct of investigations with staff and consumers (stage 5) and conduct feasibility testing on the guidance (stage 6). Participants will include healthcare safety systems policymakers and staff (n=120-255) who commission, undertake or review investigations and consumers (n=20-32) who have been impacted by adverse events. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been granted by the Northern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (2023/ETH02007 and 2023/ETH02341).The research findings will be incorporated into best practice guidance, published in international and national journals and disseminated through conferences.

Child and caregiver experiences and perceptions of asthma self-management.

Asthma is the most common chronic condition of childhood. Self-management is integral to good asthma control. This qualitative paper explores how children with asthma and their parents perceive asthma, their experience with asthma, and how they manage symptoms, preventions and medications within and outside the home. We undertook 15 focus groups with 41 school-aged (6-11 years) children with asthma and 38 parents. Parents and their children attended the same focus groups. We used thematic analysis to analyse the transcripts. Our findings show the impact asthma can have on children's social and emotional wellbeing and highlight how reliant school-aged children are on their parents to effectively manage their asthma. Parents reported being unsure when their child's symptoms warranted visiting their doctor or hospital. Schools were identified as a source of difficulty regarding asthma management; families reported that children may be self-conscious about their asthma and using their inhaler at school. School policies and teachers' lack of asthma knowledge were reported to exacerbate children's reluctance to use their inhaler at school. Our results have implications for the design and implementation of children's self-management interventions for their asthma, particularly when they are at school and away from their parents.

Reducing preventable harm to residents in aged care: A systems approach.

Residents in Australian aged care facilities can suffer serious preventable harm from incidents ('adverse events' (AEs)). An inadequate response to AEs by aged care facilities can compound distress to residents and their families/carers. Facilities have an obligation to respond to and investigate AEs involving residents, learn from them, and take action to reduce the chance of them reoccurring . Residential aged care facilities have a duty to create a culture where staff, residents and families/carers feel comfortable reporting AEs or complaints; there is adequate time and resources to manage AEs and complaints; and feedback is provided to staff, residents and their families/carers on the results of investigations into AEs/complaints. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's role should encompass additional governance functions such as sharing results and lessons learnt from AEs, complaints and investigations across Australia, assuring the quality of investigations conducted by facilities, and undertaking national system-wide investigations.

Assessing the appropriateness of the management of gastro-oesophageal reflux in Australian children: a population-based sample survey.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is a common physiological state in infants and young children, with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) its pathological manifestation. Management of GOR/GORD requires elimination of possible underlying causes, parental reassurance, modification of feeding and symptom mitigation, monitoring, and referral to paediatricians if warning signs are present. Published clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) seek to support clinicians and improve management. This study aimed to measure the proportion of Australian GOR/GORD paediatric care that was in line with CPG recommendations. National and international CPGs for GOR/GORD were systematically identified and candidate indicators extracted; a Delphi process selected 32 indicators relevant to Australian paediatric care in 2012 and 2013. Medical records were identified in General Practices, the offices of general paediatricians, Emergency Departments and inpatient settings. Adherence to indicators was assessed by nine trained paediatric nurses undertaking retrospective medical record review. Medical records were reviewed in 115 healthcare sites; identifying 285 children, three-quarters aged < 1 year, who had 359 visits for management of GOR/GORD; 2250 eligible indicator assessments were performed. Estimated adherence rates are reported for 21 indicators with ≥ 25 assessments. Five indicators recommending differential diagnostic tests (e.g., urinalysis) for infants presenting with recurrent regurgitation and poor weight gain had ~ 10% adherence; conversely, avoidance of unrecommended tests (e.g., barium swallow and meal) was high (99.8% adherence: 95% CI 97.0-100). Avoidance of prescription of acid-suppression medication for infants at the first presentation was higher if they were healthy and thriving (86.9% adherence: 95% CI 86.0-96.8), intermediate if they had feeding refusal (73.1%: 95% CI 56.0-86.3) and lower if they presented with irritability and unexplained crying (58.8%: 95% CI 28.2-85.0). A guideline targeting Australian health professionals caring for infants and children with GOR/GORD is warranted, highlighting the importance of differential diagnostic testing and avoidance of acid-suppression medication in infants.

Guideline adherence in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: An audit of selected medical records in three Australian states.

OBJECTIVE: To assess General Practitioner (GP) and pediatrician adherence to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for diagnosis, treatment and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Medical records for 306 children aged ≤15 years from 46 GP clinics and 20 pediatric practices in Australia were reviewed against 34 indicators derived from CPG recommendations. At indicator level, adherence was estimated as the percentage of indicators with 'Yes' or 'No' responses for adherence, which were scored 'Yes'. This was done separately for GPs, pediatricians and overall; and weighted to adjust for sampling processes. RESULTS: Adherence with guidelines was high at 83.6% (95% CI: 77.7-88.5) with pediatricians (90.1%; 95% CI: 73.0-98.1) higher than GPs (68.3%; 95% CI: 46.0-85.8; p = 0.02). Appropriate assessment for children presenting with signs or symptoms of ADHD was undertaken with 95.2% adherence (95% CI: 76.6-99.9), however ongoing reviews for children with ADHD prescribed stimulant medication was markedly lower for both pediatricians (51.1%; 95% CI: 9.6-91.4) and GPs (18.7%; 95% CI: 4.1-45.5). CONCLUSION: Adherence to CPGs for ADHD by pediatricians was generally high. Adherence by GPs was lower across most domains; timely recognition of medication side effects is a particular area for improvement.

Guideline adherence in the management of head injury in Australian children: A population-based sample survey.

BACKGROUND: Head injuries in children are a common and potentially devastating presentation. The CareTrack Kids (CTK) study assessed care of Australian children aged 0-15 years, in 2012 and 2013, to evaluate the proportion in line with guideline-based indicators for 17 common conditions. Overall adherence to guideline-based recommended practice occurred 59.8% of care encounters (95% CI: 57.5-62.0), and 78.3% (95% CI: 75.1-81.2) for head injury. This paper presents results for head injury, at indicator level. METHODS: A modified version of the RAND-UCLA method of indicator development was used. Indicators, measurable components of a standard or guideline, were developed from international and national guidelines relating to head injury in children and were ratified by clinical experts using a Delphi process. Paediatric nurses extracted data from medical records from general practitioners (GPs), emergency departments (EDs) and inpatient wards in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, for children under 15 years receiving care in 2012-13. Our purpose was to estimate the percentage adherent for each indicator. RESULTS: The medical records of 629 children with head injury were examined. Fifty-one percent of children were under 5 years old, with more males (61%) than females. Thirty-eight indicators were assessed. Avoidance of nasotracheal airways (100%; 95% CI: 99.4-100) or nasogastric tubes (99.7%; 95% CI: 98.5-100) for children with a head injury had the highest adherence. Indicators relating to primary and secondary assessment of head injuries were mostly adhered to. However, adherence to other indicators was poor (e.g., documentation of the past history of children (e.g., presence or absence of seizures) before the injury; 29.9% (95% CI: 24.5-35.7)), and for others was difficult to estimate with confidence due to small sample sizes (e.g., Children with a head injury who were intubated had PaO2 above 80mm Hg; 56.0% (95% CI: 28.6-80.9)). Indicators guiding clinical decision making regarding the need for CT scan had insufficient data to justify reporting. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that management of head injury in children mostly follows guidelines, but also flags some specific areas of inconsistency. Individual sites are encouraged to use these results to guide investigation of local practices and inform quality improvement endeavours.

Assessing the quality of health care in the management of bronchiolitis in Australian children: a population-based sample survey.

BACKGROUND: Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of respiratory hospitalisation in children aged <2 years. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) suggest only supportive management of bronchiolitis. However, the availability of CPGs do not guarantee that they are used appropriately and marked variation in the clinical management exists. We conducted an assessment of guideline adherence in the management of bronchiolitis in children at a subnationally representative level including inpatient and ambulatory services in Australia. METHODS: We searched for national and international CPGs relating to management of bronchiolitis in children and identified 16 recommendations which were formatted into 40 medical record audit indicator questions. A retrospective medical record review assessing compliance with the CPGs was conducted across three types of healthcare setting: hospital inpatient admissions, emergency department (ED) presentations and general practice (GP) consultations in three Australian states for children aged <2 years receiving care in 2012 and 2013. RESULTS: Purpose-trained surveyors conducted 13 979 eligible indicator assessments across 796 visits for bronchiolitis at 119 sites. Guideline adherence for management of bronchiolitis was 77.3% (95% CI 72.6 to 81.5) for children attending EDs, 81.6% (95% CI 78.0 to 84.9) for inpatients and 52.3% (95% CI 44.8 to 59.7) for children attending GP consultations. While adherence to some individual indicators was high, overall adherence to documentation of 10 indicators relating to history taking and examination was poorest and estimated at 2.7% (95% CI 1.5 to 4.4). CONCLUSIONS: The study is the first to assess guideline-adherence in both hospital (ED and inpatient) and GP settings. Our study demonstrated that while the quality of care for bronchiolitis was generally adherent to CPG indicators, specific aspects of management were deficient, especially documentation of history taking.

Assessing the appropriateness of the management of upper respiratory tract infection in Australian children: a population-based sample survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the proportion of Australian children aged 0-15 years that received care in line with clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). DESIGN: Retrospective medical record review using a multistage sampling strategy. SETTING: General practices, hospital emergency departments and hospital inpatient service providers in three Australian states. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged up to 15 years who received care for URTI in 2012 and 2013. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary assessment was estimated adherence with 14 indicators of appropriate care as documented in medical records. Indicators were extracted from national and international CPGs and ratified by experts. Secondary assessment was adherence to two bundles of indicators (diagnostic symptoms and medical history taking), where all indicators must be adherent for the bundle to be scored as adherent. RESULTS: There were 1653 children with one or more assessments of URTI care to CPG adherence. Over half of the children were under 3 years of age, with roughly equal numbers of males and females. Three indicators had fewer than 25 visits so were not reported. Overall adherence ranged from 0.5% for 'documented advice around antibiotics' to 88.3% for 'documentation of medical history'. Adherence with Bundle A (documentation of all three definitive symptoms) was 43.1% (95% CI 32.8% to 54.0%) and Bundle B (documentation of all four indicators of medical history) was 30.2% (95% CI 20.9% to 40.9%). CONCLUSIONS: URTIs in children are common, usually self-limiting, conditions that are allocated considerable resources. The results suggest that there may be a need for more thorough holistic assessment of the patient and improved documentation. Since inappropriate prescription of antibiotics for URTIs is still a known problem in Australia, there is a need for consistent, clear communication around antibiotics' lack of impact on symptoms and a high association with undesirable side effects.

CareTrack Aged: the appropriateness of care delivered to Australians living in residential aged care facilities: a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The aged population is increasing rapidly across the world and this is expected to continue. People living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) represent amongst the sickest and frailest cohort of the aged population, with a high prevalence of chronic conditions and complex comorbidities. Given the vulnerability of RACF residents and the demands on the system, there is a need to determine the extent that care is delivered in line with best practice ('appropriate care') in RACFs. There is also a recognition that systems should provide care that optimises quality of life (QoL), which includes support for physical and psychological well-being, independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and a caring external environment. The aims of CareTrack Aged are to develop sets of indicators for appropriate care and processes of care for commonly managed conditions, and then assess the appropriateness of care delivered and QoL of residents in RACFs in Australia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will extract recommendations from clinical practice guidelines and, using expert review, convert these into sets of indicators for 15 common conditions and processes of care for people living in RACFs. We will recruit RACFs in three Australian states, and residents within these RACFs, using a stratified multistage sampling method. Experienced nurses, trained in the CareTrack Aged methods ('surveyors'), will review care records of recruited residents within a 1-month period in 2019 and 2020, and assess the care documented against the indicators of appropriate care. Surveyors will concurrently assess residents' QoL using validated questionnaires. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Macquarie University (5201800386). The research findings will be published in international and national journals and disseminated through conferences and presentations to interested stakeholder groups, including consumers, national agencies, healthcare professionals, policymakers and researchers.