For this week’s discussion, use the Saudi Digital Library to locate a scholarly journal article that details the use of implementation science to advance quality improvement in healthcare.
Summarize the article to include the healthcare setting, the quality initiative, the methodology, and outcomes.
Was there a framework used to guide the implementation?
Did the author(s) describe any barriers to implementation?
Was there improvement and if so, was the improvement sustained?
Discuss what additional or alternative quality improvement methods, implementation science approaches, and framework you would have used or recommended.
Describe two key takeaways from this article that you would incorporate into a similar quality improvement project in the future.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a Harvard University Professor, I conduct lectures, evaluate student performance and provide feedback through assignments and examinations. In this week’s discussion, we delve into the use of implementation science to advance quality improvement in healthcare.
Answer:
The scholarly journal article titled “Implementation facilitation to promote hospital adherence to emergency department sepsis regulations” highlights the use of implementation science methodology to implement sepsis regulations in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. The study was conducted in an emergency department setting that had previously been identified as having low adherence to sepsis regulations with the implementation of a sepsis alert and treatment bundle.
The methodology employed included identifying interprofessional team members responsible for implementing the bundle and providing them with education, feedback, and technical assistance. A framework was used to guide implementation, which included planning, educating, executing, reflecting, and evaluating.
Barriers to implementation that were identified included lack of staff engagement, staff resistance to change, inadequate communication, and insufficient resources. With the implementation of the bundle, there was a significant improvement in adherence to sepsis regulations, and the improvement was sustained over time.
Alternative quality improvement methods that could have been used include using process mapping tools to identify inefficiencies, using root cause analysis tools to determine underlying causes of low adherence, and the use of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to test and refine improvement interventions. A potential framework that could have been used is the Lean Six Sigma approach.
Two key takeaways from this article that I would incorporate into a similar quality improvement project in the future include the importance of utilizing interprofessional team members and the necessity of employing a framework or methodology to guide implementation.
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