Health care accreditation has been expanding globally, with accreditation organizations
now existing in over 70 countries. Some of those countries have begun to question
the value of accreditation and whether it makes a verifiable improvement in health
care and health care outcomes. Accreditation thus has a need for research that proves
its worth. To that end, research focusing on the impact of accreditation and other
aspects of accreditation is being undertaken by accreditation organizations worldwide.
Some countries recognize the merits of accreditation and have made accreditation
mandatory, a growing trend. This has created a need to understand how the quality
and integrity of accreditation as a practice may be affected by the mandatory approach
in contrast to voluntary.
Performance measurements have begun to play an important role in accreditation programs.
Performance measures strengthen the objectivity and rigor of accreditation. Complementary
to the standards, the integration and application of performance measures within
accreditation programs is escalating.
With an increasing amount of accreditation-related research and data being generated,
it has become necessary to create a means for research to be coordinated and shared
more easily. It is important to learn from each other, to share the evidence and,
at the same time, to identify the gaps and areas within which more research is required.
Many of the challenges encountered by accreditation are similar around the world.
This website will assist the exchange of research, understanding, and knowledge
of the accreditation effectiveness. Several of the leaders of accreditation organizations
began to work to that end, creating the ISQua Research Working Group in early 2006.
The ISQua Research Working Group, comprised of members of the Accreditation Federation
Council, recognized the need for this website and planned regular meetings to oversee
its development. The group consists of:
- Wendy Nicklin, from Accreditation Canada and the group’s chair;
- Charles Bruneau, from the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS);
- Rosa Suñol, from the Avedis Donabedian Foundation (FAD);
- Stuart Whittaker, from the Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern
Africa (COHSASA);
- Su Huynh, from Accreditation Canada, who led the framework development, creating and implementing the site in 2007. He
continues to be the lead technical executive of the project.
The development of content for the site was lead by the group. An inventory of existing
research within the Accreditation Federation Council organizations was compiled.
This has created a database that will allow trends in the research to be identified
and gaps to be filled while simultaneously helping researchers to avoid redundant
projects. This will ultimately lead to an improvement in the quality and effectiveness
of accreditation worldwide.
The site will also enable more open dissemination of the data and research to the
accreditation community as well as to the public. Given the increasing transparency
regarding accreditation, this website will be an important evidence-based source.
The site will undergo further improvements to increase its usefulness as a tool
for collaboration and information exchange. Future plans include the development
of a mechanism to receive and post new research projects on the site. A chat room
within the site is also being considered for researchers to discuss findings.