External Engagement for the Assessment of Annual Cancer System Performance Indicators

A key component of the Partnership’s work is the reporting of standardized performance indicators at the system level (pan-Canadian, by jurisdiction and other high-level demographic categories) through the System Performance Initiative. To achieve this, the System Performance Initiative works collaboratively with stakeholders across Canada to identify priority areas of the cancer control continuum, develop indicators that measure how well Canada is doing on these priorities, and collect standardized data and report it in knowledge products like system performance reports.

To date, we have published 18 system performance reports including over 80 indicators. Of these, about 30 system performance indicators are reported on an annual basis and encompass the entire cancer control continuum – from prevention and screening, through to treatment and end-of-life care, and including long-term outcomes. This data informs provincial cancer agencies, clinicians, policy-makers and researchers about the state of cancer control across the country, areas where progress has been made and opportunities for quality improvements. For more information on past System Performance reports and existing indicators, please visit systemperformance.ca.

Indicator Refresh Background

An initial suite of 17 annual system performance indicators was created in 2009, following extensive consultations with partners and subject matter experts through a modified Delphi method. This set of indicators has organically evolved – some have been added, modified or replaced altogether – resulting in the current 30 indicators distributed across the cancer control continuum. While individual metrics have been assessed and modified on a case by case basis in the past 10 years, there is now a pressing need to conduct a comprehensive and systematic assessment of these indicators as a cohesive set, to ensure they are relevant, current, and aligned with national priorities for cancer control. Therefore, the Partnership is conducting a refresh of its annual system performance indicators, which includes an assessment of existing metrics and development of a new set of indicators that are aligned with the new Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (CSCC), in order to monitor progress made against the Strategy over time. In addition to alignment with the CSCC’s priorities, the new set of actionable indicators should point to areas of the cancer system that can lead to change (i.e., tipping points in the system) and for which mechanisms to execute such change are well-known. Equally important is the buy-in from stakeholders across the country, so they promote the dissemination and use of this new suite of indicators.

To achieve this, the System Performance initiative has developed a priority-driven conceptual framework, which is intended to guide the selection of the new balanced set of system performance metrics. The execution of this framework will start in the summer of 2019 by means of a modified deliberative engagement approach, which encompasses three key milestones:

1. Identify priority areas in the cancer system that are primed for action (i.e., tipping points in the system)
2. Select potential system performance indicators that are best suited for assessing those priority areas by means of iterative discussions and scoring of indicators.
3. Reach consensus on a balanced set of system performance indicators to report on in the future

Given the iterative nature of this priority-driven conceptual framework, we require wide engagement with external partners across the country throughout the three milestones of the project. Given our diverse audience and short timeline, we plan to use a primarily online engagement approach. Many of the stakeholders who will be involved in consultations already hold a relationship with the Partnership, and include clinical experts, researchers, health care administrators, patient and family representatives, among others.

Note: the webinar presentation that was recorded failed to provide audio and only the presentation of webinar is available.  Our apologies for this technical mishap.

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