Validation of a new method for testing provider clinical quality in rural settings in low- and middle-income countries: the observed simulated patient

Assessing the quality of care provided by individual health practitioners is critical to identifying possible risks to the health of the public. However, existing assessment methods can be inaccurate, expensive, or infeasible in many developing country settings, particularly in rural areas and espec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-01, Vol.7 (1), p.e30196-e30196
Main Authors: Aung, Tin, Montagu, Dominic, Schlein, Karen, Khine, Thin Myat, McFarland, Willi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actors
Actresses
Ambulatory care
Care and treatment
Child
Children
Developing countries
Developing Countries - statistics & numerical data
Diagnosis
Epidemiology
Female
Health aspects
Health education
Health Personnel - standards
Health risks
Health services
Hospitals, Rural - standards
Humans
Illnesses
LDCs
Low income groups
Malaria
Male
Manikins
Mannequins
Medical care
Medical diagnosis
Medical History Taking - methods
Medical History Taking - standards
Medical records
Medicine
Methods
Nursing homes
Patient satisfaction
Patient Simulation
Patients
Pediatrics
Poverty - statistics & numerical data
Quality
Quality assessment
Quality Assurance, Health Care - methods
Quality control
Quality management
Rural areas
Rural Population
Social Class
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching - methods
Test procedures
Training
Vector-borne diseases
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Summary:Assessing the quality of care provided by individual health practitioners is critical to identifying possible risks to the health of the public. However, existing assessment methods can be inaccurate, expensive, or infeasible in many developing country settings, particularly in rural areas and especially for children. Following an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing methods for provider assessment, we developed a synthesis method combining components of direct observation, clinical vignettes, and medical mannequins which we have termed "Observed Simulated Patient" or OSP. An OSP assessment involves a trained actor playing the role of a 'mother', a life-size doll representing a 5-year old boy, and a trained observer. The provider being assessed was informed in advance of the role-playing, and told to conduct the diagnosis and treatment as he normally would while verbally describing the examinations. We tested the validity of OSP by conducting parallel scoring of medical providers in Myanmar, assessing the quality of their diagnosis and treatment of pediatric malaria, first by direct observation of true patients and second by OSP. Data were collected from 20 private independent medical practitioners in Mon and Kayin States, Myanmar between December 26, 2010 and January 12, 2011. All areas of assessment showed agreement between OSP and direct observation above 90% except for history taking related to past experience with malaria medicines. In this area, providers did not ask questions of the OSP to the same degree that they questioned real patients (agreement 82.8%). The OSP methodology may provide a valuable option for quality assessment of providers in places, or for health conditions, where other assessment tools are unworkable.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0030196