title: Assessing the quality of mental health promotion and prevention in Croatia: the case of Istria.
abstract: While the availability of mental health promotion and prevention programs worldwide is growing, there is divergence in their level of effectiveness that has led to increasing interest in the development of 'effect management' strategies. Mental health promotion and prevention science and practice has a relatively young history in Croatia, but major investments towards its development have been made over the last decade. This paper reports on a research project that took place within the Istrian Region. The long-term goal of the initiative is to establish quality assurance indicators for mental health promotion and prevention interventions. The current study involved adapting the Dutch Preffi 2.0 instrument for use in Croatia. The content of the Preffi reflects the literature regarding research-based effect predictors. An instrument allows users to assess whether programs have been designed and implemented in ways that maximize their ability to be effective. The Preffi scores can be used for improving a program and the quality with which it is implemented. The first aim of the study is to determine if independent researchers can use the Preffi reliably as a quality assessment instrument. The second aim is to use the Preffi to describe the quality of one cohort of mental health promotion and prevention programs. The study represents the first steps toward developing a strategy for quality assurance that strengthens community capacity for effective service delivery and that could inform other countries whose mental health promotion and prevention efforts are in early stages of development.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Josipa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mihic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Emeritus Professor of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention at Maastricht University & Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hosman
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Centre, Penn State University, Penn State, USA.
authors.forename: Celene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Domitrovich
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods
keywords: intervention effectiveness; mental health promotion and prevention; quality assessment; quality assurance