Anxiety Disorders and OCD Quality Standards - Focus Groups

Thank you for your interest in attending a focus group on the implementation of the Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Quality Standards.

HQO is working in partnership with the Provincial System Support Program (PSSP) at CAMH to engage mental health and addiction stakeholders across Ontario. The purpose of the engagement is to better understand system level barriers and facilitators to implementing the Anxiety Disorders and OCD quality standards. We are interested in hearing from a spectrum of organizations that are working to deliver care for people living with Anxiety Disorders and OCD. Your feedback will inform the recommendations for adoption, developed by Health Quality Ontario to support uptake of the quality standards.

For more information on the Quality Standards Program, and to view the quality standards released to date, please visit Quality Standards.

Consent

What am I being asked to do?

If you agree to be a part of this project, you will participate in a group discussion with 8-14 people. This discussion will be facilitated by PSSP via Adobe Connect web conferencing software. The facilitator will ask you questions about your perspectives on challenges and facilitators to adopting the Anxiety Disorders and OCD quality standards. A note-taker will make notes of your responses but not record any personal information about you, other than your name, organization and consent to participate. The focus group will last approximately 75 minutes and will be audio recorded.

Is my participation voluntary?

Yes. You do not need to participate and you can share as much or as little information as you would like. If you agree to participate, you do not have to answer any questions that you do not want to, and you can stop at any time.

Is it confidential?

Yes. Your information will be kept safe and secure at PSSP, on a password-protected drive. Responses from participants will be combined, and your information will not be directly linked to your responses. Audio recordings will be used only for data collection and analysis purposes. Information gathered through the sessions will be shared with HQO. The final report will list the organizations and the roles of their representatives who have participated in the consultations. Ensuring this level of confidentiality allows participants to have open and honest discussions and feel comfortable sharing their perspectives. Due to the group nature of the meetings, absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. PSSP will delete all recordings once the finalised focus group report is submitted to HQO.

How will my information be used?

This information will help to understand the barriers and facilitators to adopting the HQO Anxiety Disorders and OCD quality standards. Information from all respondents will be combined and summarized in a report to be shared with the HQO project team. Your feedback will inform the recommendations for adoption, developed by Health Quality Ontario to support uptake of the quality standards. The recommendations for adoption will be shared broadly with stakeholders across Ontario and will be publicly available on HQO's website.

What are the potential risks and benefits?

There are no known risks involved in this project, but if you experience discomfort or fatigue during the interview you can take a break or end the interview/leave the room. Please remember that you do not have to answer all of the questions or reveal any personal information.

Participating in this project will not benefit you directly. You will not be paid for your participation. However, the results of this consultation may help to inform improvements to service delivery related to the Anxiety Disorders and OCD quality standards in the future.

Agreement to Participate:

By registering for this event and participating in the consultation, I agree that:

1. The process is clear to me. All my questions were answered.

2. I understand the potential risks and benefits of the process.

3. I understand that I am a volunteer and can drop out at any time, and may choose not to answer any of the questions.

4. I understand that my participation (role and organization) will be noted in the final report.

Where can I go if I have questions or complaints?

If you have questions about the consultation, please contact Tihana Skoric at 416-535-8501 ext. 30335 or tihana.skoric@camh.ca.­

Date and Times:

The discussion group will be 75 minutes, facilitated by PSSP online through Adobe Connect web conferencing software, with approximately 8-14 participants per group.

Please sign up for one of the following sessions. You may sign up for multiple sessions by selecting the topics and corresponding dates during registration.

1. Identification & Assessment of Anxiety Disorders and OCD (Nov 22 12 noon-1:15 PM)
2. Monitoring and Follow-Up for People with Anxiety Disorders and OCD (Nov 23 12 noon-1:15 PM)
3. Managing Anxiety Disorders: The Stepped Care Approach (Nov 26 12 noon-1:15 PM)
4. Effective Approaches to Managing OCD (Nov 28 12 noon-1:15 PM)
5. Support for Families & Continuity of Care for People with OCD (Nov 29 12 noon-1:15 PM)