Background: The Partnerships for Quality project was designed to close the gap between knowledge and care for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by fostering a partnership between a major medical specialty society, a professional certifying body, a national family-based advocacy organization, and a child health improvement organization.
Methods: Ten American Academy of Pediatrics chapters conducted training workshops for practicing pediatricians and their office teams. Assistance was provided in the form of feedback of data, ongoing communication via conference calls, and a listserve. Two national workshops were conducted to disseminate learnings and promote sustainability.
Results: Participation in the intervention resulted in greater involvement in quality improvement activities by practice teams and improved care outcomes. The training workshops facilitated collaboration among providers, parents, and the educational, mental health, and legal systems.
Discussion: The partnership structure used demonstrated what professional societies can do to support improvement at the local level and what component chapters need to do to support improvement at the practice level. The integration of quality improvement infrastructure and policy changes at the national and local levels suggest that the quality efforts are likely to be sustained, providing long-term improvement in care and outcomes for children and families.