SCS Test Site / Research Refresh

What does QI involve?
Quality improvement draws on a wide variety of approaches and methods, although many share underlying principles, including:

• identifying the quality issue

• understanding the problem from a range of perspectives, with a particular emphasis on using and interpreting data

• developing a theory of change

• identifying and testing potential solutions; using data to measure the impact of each test and gradually refining the solution to the problem

• implementing the solution and ensuring that the intervention is sustained as part of standard practice. The successful implementation of the intervention will depend on the context of the system or the organization making the change and requires careful consideration.

 ► It is important to create the right conditions for improvement and these include the backing of senior leaders, supportive and engaged colleagues and patients, and access to appropriate resources and skills.

Quallity Improvement Made Simple

Organizations Dedicated to QI

Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)

• Six Domains of Healthcare Quality (AHRQ)

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

Extensive List of QI Organizations and Programs (TX Woman's University Libraries)

• Look for evidence-based guidelines and standards to help identify where your workplace systems or processes have failed
• Your evaluation of the literature is vital to locating trustworthy information. Published reports can be biased. Studies can be poorly designed; even statistics may be miscalculated.

Searching

Build your PubMed literature search for health care quality and costs (National Library of Medicine Health Services Research)

Finding QI Literature (Florida State University Medical Library)

Evaluating

How to Read a Paper.  Links to 10 articles to guide your exploration and laying your groundwork. (Brit Med J)

How to Read a Paper. Same title as the above link but a different work. Considered a classic of evidence-based medicine (details below)

User's Guide to the Medical Literature (JAMA Network) .

Critical Appraisal Tools. Worksheets will save you time and help you identify questionable study designs, processes, data, and conclulsions. (CEBM).    ► The Top Tips section could have you seeing your work in a whole new way!

A simple method for evaluating the clinical literature (Fam Pract Med)

Understanding synthesis (systematic) review articles  (video, 2 min) From CIS, a company created to teach information mastery to medical residents and providers.

Quality Improvement Essentials (IHI)  Here are 10 essential tools for any QI project.  The tools come with instructions, examples, and a template for each one.

Sources for QI Data, Tools, and Statistics (TX Woman's University Libraries)

Research Fundamentals: Preparing you to contribute to research successfully (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute)  If you are interested in a patient safety project, this training package will be very helpful.

Patient Safety Essentials Toolkit (IHI) Nine downloadable, essential tools to guide improving patient safety and delivering safe, reliable care.

SQUIRE:  Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence. 

SQUIRE guidelines help authors write publishable articles about QI in healthcare. The guidelines can also serve as a checklist to develop and propose a QI Project. Begin with a Project Title and the Introduction Sections.  Continue using the guidelines as you develop and implement your project.

• Turn you QI Project into research - Use the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines (slide)
• Using SQUIRE 2.0 to guide your QI work (Adv Neonat Care 2016)
• Using SQUIRE 2.0 as a guide for planning your QI Project (Crit Care Nurs, 2017)
• Explanation and elaboration of the SQUIRE Guidelines, V.2.0.: examples of SQUIRE elements in the healthcare improvement literature. (BMJ Qual Saf 2016)