South Carolina hospitals and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health decided to investigate the development of psychiatric emergency departments (EDs) in South Carolina. Data were gathered in an effort to determine the need for a psychiatric ED in Charleston County. Once the data had been collected and analyzed, it was determined that the data was not comparable from ED to ED. The collection methods were different; the questions asked and answered were different; the collection points were different. No operational definitions even existed. As a result of this finding, it was decided that a data collection tool and a stakeholder needs assessment survey needed to be developed. Therefore, this paper will discuss all dimensions associated with the creation and use of these tools.
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