The Use of a “Mystery Shopper” Methodology to Evaluate Children’s Access to Psychiatric Services

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dembe AE ; Hemming T ; Kelleher K ; Steinman KJ ; Wickizer TM
• Description:
  Mystery shoppers are individuals hired to pose as a typical consumer to provide reports of services provided, along with consumer experiences and reactions. While historically this technique has been used in retail services, it has recently been applied as an assessment tool in healthcare facilities. In the medical field, mystery shoppers are often referred to as "pseudo-patients" or "simulated patients" as they present to various healthcare settings posing as a patient with a fictional condition or with medical questions. This study aims to describe the utility of a mystery shopper approach for assessing the ease of, and time needed for a child to get a routine appointment with a child psychiatrist. First, we consider whether the methodology can be conducted effectively and efficiently-that is, with limited research staff, without being detected, and without imposing a significant administrative burden on participating psychiatry offices. Second, we assess whether the mystery shopper approach can generate useful data for measuring access to care. Specifically, we anticipated that children would need to wait several months to get an appointment with a child psychiatrist. Additionally, we expected that patients with Medicaid would have longer wait times compared to those with private insurance. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Children Health Care Mental Health Psychiatrists Psychological Disorders
• ISSN:
  1094-3412
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  305-313
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057186
• Citation:
  J Behav Health Serv Res 2012 Jul; 39(3):305-313
• Contact Point Address:
  Kelly Kelleher, MD, Director for Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University, 700 Children's Dr, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
• Email:
  Kelly.Kelleher@nationwidechildrens.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:93d23b5da2eb585df055deab0b2ffc50f5f5e49a66533aaf6a03a980141bfc6ffe5efd294dc600051f98250972495530032d39027d10bdf8debcf9b3d46b5ca2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214615/cdc_214615_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 84.17 KB ]