Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Alpenquai 4, Lucerne 6005, Switzerland.
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Switzerland, Claudiusstrasse 6, St. Gallen 9006, Switzerland.
Int J Qual Health Care. 2024 Aug 30;36(3). doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzae079.
Quality criteria and certification possibilities for paediatric oncology centres vary between countries and are not widely used. An overview of the type and how quality criteria and certifications are used in countries with highly developed healthcare systems is missing. This international cross-sectional survey investigated the use of quality criteria for paediatric oncology centres and whether certification is possible. We sent an online survey to paediatric oncologists from 32 countries worldwide and analysed the survey results and provided regional or national documents on quality criteria and certification possibilities descriptively. Paediatric oncologists from 28 (88%) countries replied. In most countries, the paediatric oncology centres were partly or completely grown historically (75%), followed by the development based on predefined criteria (29%), and due to political reason (25%), with more than one reason in some countries. Quality criteria are available in 20 countries (71%). We newly identified or specified five quality criteria, in addition to those from a previously performed systematic review. Certification of paediatric oncology centres is possible in 13 countries (46%), with a specific certification for paediatric oncology in seven, and a mandatory certification in three of them. The use of quality criteria and certification possibilities are heterogeneous, with quality criteria being more frequently used than certifications. Our study provides an overview of country-specific documents and links with quality criteria, and centre certification possibilities. It can serve as a reference document for stakeholders and may inform an international harmonization of quality criteria and centre certification between countries with similar healthcare systems.
儿科肿瘤中心的质量标准和认证可能性因国家而异，且并未广泛使用。缺乏对具有高度发达医疗体系的国家中质量标准和认证类型以及使用方式的概述。本项国际横断面调查研究了儿科肿瘤中心使用质量标准的情况以及认证的可能性。我们向来自全球 32 个国家的儿科肿瘤学家发送了在线调查，并对调查结果进行了分析，并以描述性方式提供了有关质量标准和认证可能性的区域或国家文件。来自 28 个（88%）国家的儿科肿瘤学家做出了答复。在大多数国家，儿科肿瘤中心是历史上逐步发展起来的（75%），其次是基于预先设定的标准发展的（29%），以及出于政治原因（25%），一些国家有多种原因。20 个国家（71%）提供了质量标准。除了之前进行的系统评价中确定的标准外，我们还新确定或指定了五项质量标准。13 个国家（46%）可对儿科肿瘤中心进行认证，其中 7 个国家有专门针对儿科肿瘤的认证，3 个国家有强制性认证。质量标准和认证可能性的使用具有异质性，质量标准的使用比认证更为频繁。本研究提供了特定国家文件与质量标准和中心认证可能性的链接概述。它可以作为利益相关者的参考文件，并为具有类似医疗体系的国家之间的质量标准和中心认证的国际协调提供信息。
