VALIDATING QUALITY INDICATORS - QUALITY AS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE, PROCESS, AND OUTCOME

Theory and research have not kept pace with the growing interest in ev aluating quality of mental health care, resulting in the use of unvali dated quality indicators. A framework for validating quality indicator s is offered by which quality is viewed as the relationship between se rvice structures, processes, and outcomes. Adoption of this framework will facilitate the measurement of quality using valid indicators and should be useful to agencies in their continuous quality improvement e fforts. Valid information about the quality of mental health care serv ices will help purchasers and consumers make more informed health care decisions.