Affiliation:
1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
2. Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington
3. Department of Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Abstract
Quality improvement (QI) can be a critical means by which to achieve equity in health and health care. QI efforts, however, often fail to be designed and implemented through the lens of health equity. In this article, we will discuss the current state of the intersection between QI and health equity, then lay out specific steps researchers and practitioners can take to ensure that their QI work reduces, rather than increases or maintains, existing disparities. These steps include first, understanding existing disparities and, second, utilizing community engagement to ensure that QI enhances health equity. Before embarking on QI work, QI practitioners should first examine their metric of interest by patient characteristics, starting with race and ethnicity, language, and markers of access to care and socioeconomic status. Developing an understanding of existing disparities relevant to the QI project will ensure that the QI interventions can be designed to be most effective in the disadvantaged populations, thus increasing the likelihood that the intervention reduces existing disparities. In designing QI interventions, practitioners must also plan engagement with stakeholder populations ahead of time, to carefully understand their needs and priorities and how best to address them through QI efforts.
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference54 articles.
1. Guiding inpatient quality improvement: a systematic review of Lean and Six Sigma;Glasgow;Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf,2010
2. The impact of redesigning care processes on quality of care: a systematic review;van Leijen-Zeelenberg;BMC Health Serv Res,2016
3. Systematic review of the application of the plan-do-study-act method to improve quality in healthcare;Taylor;BMJ Qual Saf,2014
Cited by
23 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献