Long-term Enhancement of Competencies and Methods regarding SOPESS as Part of the Preschool Health Examination

Long-term enhancement of competencies and methods regarding SOPESS as part of the preschool health examination (KOMET-SEU)

Project period: 01.04.2021 - 30.09.2024

For more information on study procedure (in German), please click here(PDF 538,3 KB).

You can find the study protocol (in German) here(PDF 680,7 KB).

You can find the questionnaire for the effect evaluation (in German) here(PDF 878,0 KB).

Background

The preschool health examination (PHE) is one of the key tasks of public health services and serves as an individual medical examination of the developmental status and the school-relevant health situation of a child before school enrolment. Within the context of the PHE, the SOPESS (social-paediatric screening of developmental status for school entry) is used in Germany as a standardized and validated screening instrument for the early detection of school-relevant developmental problems and health risks. In the past, it was shown that the SOPESS data were affected by methodological heterogeneity, which questioned the validity and usefulness of the data. In some cases, data collection, quality, and provision were severely limited, resulting in little or no benefit for health monitoring and prevention. Differences in test application, execution, or documentation were hypothesized as reasons for this methodological heterogeneity.

Objectives

In close cooperation with child and youth health services of public health departments across Germany, we aimed to support the public health services in the execution, documentation and appraisal of SOPESS by strengthening their methodological competencies and supporting their quality control. This was intended to enhance the potential of the data for local prevention and resource planning, as well as for health reporting.

Project Procedure

The project was carried out within a national research network and divided into four work packages (WP). WP 1 examined data quality in Schleswig-Holstein and, on this basis, developed an algorithm for detecting methodological heterogeneity, a traffic-light warning system and an interactive dashboard. In WP 2, the causes of methodological heterogeneity were identified through guided interviews with employees from child and youth health services. On this basis, WP 3 developed an online training package to ensure the quality-assured implementation of SOPESS (including video tutorials and checklists). In WP 4, the training package was implemented in 17 public health departments and its effectiveness was evaluated. In addition, reach, acceptance, utilisation, practical relevance, and implementation quality were assessed by means of a comprehensive process evaluation.

Funding

Federal Ministry of Health (BMG)

Contact

Dr. Christiane Diefenbach (Research assistant)

E-Mail: komet-seu@uni-mainz.de