Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures.

Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation| Nursing homework help

In order to enhance the quality of healthcare, it is necessary to change certain processes. For these initiatives to be evaluated, it is important that sensitive and reliable outcome measures are used. The sensitive outcomes are used to measure the impact of an initiative on a system, by examining individual outcomes such as hospital readmissions or mortality rates. By examining factors such as population impacts, resource usage, and others, sound outcomes determine whether an initiative will be cost-effective in the long run and durable.

For example, a quality improvement initiative focused on reducing healthcare-associated infections could use mortality rates as a sensitive outcome measure. The mortality rate would tell us if patients died from infection in the hospital prior to and following the implementation of an initiative. Further evaluation could look at hospital readmission rates for those with healthcare-associated infections; this would support evidence that the initiative reduced infection rates overall. Another good outcome measurement for this example is antibiotic use. Lower usage compared to the period before implementation will show antibiotics are being used according to guidelines from the project.

The use of both sound and sensitive outcome measures in evaluating the quality improvement initiative can ensure sustained improvements to patient care over time, while having a meaningful impact on public health issues such as Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs).