Rehabilitation service delivery: audit tool for best practice

8. Research and quality improvement

This is one of eight audit templates that form the Rehabilitation service delivery: audit tool for best practice.

This tool enables rehabilitation services to plan and review their practice to identify areas that will improve service delivery and patient outcomes. It can also be useful for teams involved in planning and establishing new rehabilitation services.

The responsibilities of the organisation and the service need to be rated. Some of the core elements are solely organisational responsibilities. Others are rehabilitation service responsibilities or dual responsibilities.

The template is for the local health district, specialty health network, affiliated health organisation and/or the private health provider of rehabilitation services. The organisation or rehabilitation service should complete the areas in the template that have been left unshaded. The people or team may vary depending on the service model and setting. For the best result, involve a range of staff in the discussions.

Core element rating scale

N/A	0	1	2	3	4
Not applicable	Not achieved	Rarely achieved	Sometimes achieved	Often achieved	Always achieved

Instructions

After discussing each core element with members of the working group, agree on the rating, and note the evidence to support this rating.

Use the action plans to note areas for improvement, key actions and who is responsible.

For more information about the audit tool, visit: https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/networks/rehabilitation/resources/audit-tool

8. Research and quality improvement

Organisation/health service: Date:

Team/s:

No.	Core elements	Organisational rating N/A 0 1 2 3 4	Service rating N/A 0 1 2 3 4	Supporting evidence
8.1	The organisation supports the engagement of rehabilitation staff in research activities.
8.2	The organisation supports the engagement of rehabilitation staff in quality improvement initiatives.
8.3	The rehabilitation service has a documented research and quality improvement plan based on current priorities.
8.4	The organisation has a process for collating and reporting on current research activity.
8.5	The organisation has a process for collating and reporting on current quality improvement initiatives.
8.6	Processes are in place for the transparent distribution of information about research grants and scholarships to rehabilitation clinicians.
8.7	Resources and opportunities are available and promoted for rehabilitation clinicians to be involved in the conduct of research.
8.8	Processes are in place to evaluate the translation of research into practice.
8.9	Processes are in place for rehabilitation services to report on the impact of discipline-specific and team education sessions on service activities and outcomes.

Research and quality improvement action plan

Date:

Core element #	Area for improvement	Action/s	Person responsible	Due date

Published November 2023. Next review 2028. ACI/D23/3804 SHPN (ACI) 230798-8 [ACI_4923]

© State of NSW (Agency for Clinical Innovation) CC-ND-BY