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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1426966

A New Model for the Diagnostic Assessment Services Trajectory for Neurodevelopmental Conditions

Provisionally accepted
Claudine Jacques Claudine Jacques 1*Mélina Rivard Mélina Rivard 2Catherine Mello Catherine Mello 3Nadia Abouzeid Nadia Abouzeid 4Élodie Hérault Élodie Hérault 2Geneviève Saulnier Geneviève Saulnier 5
  • 1 Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
  • 2 Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • 3 Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 4 Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
  • 5 Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de l'Outaouais, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: The Canadian province of Québec faces several issues regarding the accessibility and quality of diagnostic assessment and the efficiency and continuity of evaluation, support, and intervention services for children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). To address these issues, the Ministry of Health and Social Services mandated a research team to initiate the development of a reference trajectory, i.e., a proposed model pathway based on national and international best practices and research, for the diagnostic assessment of NDCs in children aged 0-7 years. Methods: The present study focused on the development of a logic model to operationalize the diagnostic services trajectory using a community-based participatory research approach and informed by implementation science. This involved representatives from multiple stakeholder groups (e.g., parents, professionals, physicians, administrators, researchers). Project steps included an analysis of best practices from a literature review on diagnostic trajectories, focus groups and interviews with stakeholders, and a validation process to ensure the appropriateness of the final model. Results: The integration of existing research and stakeholder input resulted in a logic model for a new diagnostic services trajectory for children aged 0-7 years suspected of NDCs and identified key ingredients that should be present in its future implementation. Conclusion: The proposed model for a diagnostic services trajectory is expected to address several systemic issues identified previously. Its implementation will need to be evaluated to ensure its sustained focus on the needs of families and its ability to promote their quality of life, well-being, and involvement.

    Keywords: neurodevelopmental conditions, children aged 0 to 7, Diagnostic Services, service trajectory, Community-Based Participatory Research, implementation science

    Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 23 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jacques, Rivard, Mello, Abouzeid, Hérault and Saulnier. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Claudine Jacques, Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.