Sponsors and Supporters
MyQuality would not exist without the generous financial and practical support provided by sponsors and collaborators over recent years.
MyQuality was developed (initially branded MyQuOL-T) as part of an initiative funded by the UK Department of Health in 2010/11 in conjunction with Together for Short Lives, the national charity dedicated to improving children’s palliative care services in the UK. Their “£30million stars” programme invited applications from those providing or commissioning children’s palliative care services to develop resources to improve support for children and families. MyQuality was developed by Dr Harris in conjunction with staff and families attending Children’s Hospice South West.
Initial designs evolved in response to user feedback. In 2011/12 Marie Curie Cancer Care supported workshops for young adults and funded website modifications to support the use of MyQuality during transition from children’s palliative care services to adult services.
In 2012 Children’s Hospice South West and UWE Bristol successfully submitted a joint application to evaluate the impact of MyQuality to the Health Foundation as part of their SHINE 2012 programme to support innovation in healthcare. The SHINE project was conducted in 2013-14, and the results were presented at national and international conferences and published in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal.
NHS England was keen to develop patient-centred outcome measures for children and young people in the UK, and MyQuality was one of 8 projects chosen for support and development by NHS England. Significant website modification and further evaluation took place in 2015/16, as part of a joint project with the University of the West of England (Bristol).
Dr Harris is currently enrolled at UWE Bristol as a PhD candidate, exploring the effects of MyQuality on communication and patient-centred care in palliative care services for children and young adults. This study will involve services across the South West of England, and will report in 2019/20.
MyQuality is provided free of charge for use by individuals, and the health and social care professionals who support them. We are grateful for the financial support from all those identified above, that has enabled this development to evolve and flourish. Thank You.