Performance measurement for community health services: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study that investigated performance measurement for primary health care servicesdelivered by the community health sector, and assessed the effectiveness and value of a performance measurementapproach in the evaluation of these services. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholdersin South Australia. The findings indicate that three major steps are needed to move forward in the use of performancemeasurement in the community health sector. These steps are i) development of a policy and strategy statement forcommunity health, ii) identification of performance domains and indicators, and iii) development of appropriatedata systems.