International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance: Volume 17 Issue 6

Analysis of the forms, functions and facilitation of social support in one English county: a way for professionals to improve the quality of health care

Derek Milne, Andrea McAnaney, Ben Pollinger, Katie Bateman, Emma Fewster

Voluntary organisations are an integral part of community care, and the available research indicates the value of their social support role. However, surprisingly little is known…

A new tool for measurement of process‐based performance of multispecialty tertiary care hospitals

Seetharaman Hariharan, Prasanta K. Dey, Harley S.L. Moseley, Areti Y. Kumar, Jagathi Gora

There is an increasing need of a model for the process‐based performance measurement of multispecialty tertiary care hospitals for quality improvement. Analytic hierarchy process…

Nursing work environment and quality of care: differences between units at the same hospital

Jane McCusker, Nandini Dendukuri, Linda Cardinal, Johanne Laplante, Linda Bambonye

The literature suggests that improvements in nurses' work environments may improve the quality of patient care. Furthermore, monitoring the work environment through staff surveys…

Quality management in health care: a 20‐year journey

Ulises Ruiz, Jose Simon

In this article, the total quality programme in the Spanish health‐care system (1986‐1992) and the subsequent quality improvement steps that have led to definition and…

Quality improvement techniques to improve patient satisfaction

E. Joseph Torres, Kristina L. Guo

This paper describes several approaches for implementing quality improvement initiatives to improve patient satisfaction, which enables health‐care organizations to position…

Identification of seniors at risk: process evaluation of a screening and referral program for patients aged ≥75 in a community hospital emergency department

Rebecca N. Warburton, Belinda Parke, Wynona Church, Jane McCusker

Reports on the authors' experience with a patient safety quality improvement program, intended to reduce the incidence and severity of adverse outcomes for emergency department…

Completing the circle: from PD to PDSA

Paul Walley, Ben Gowland

Problem‐solving teams, involving front‐line staff, are widely used to achieve continuous process improvement. Approaches such as “plan‐do‐study‐act” (PDSA) cycles, are now a core…

Guest editorial

Kristina L. Guo

Call for papers