focalinterest.net

Tag: Health Policy & Reform

  • Hospital quality improvement capacity depends on five linked themes

    What the study found

    The review found five key themes associated with building quality improvement (QI, organized efforts to improve health care quality) capacity in hospitals: accountability and priority setting, strategic management, collaboration, enhancing QI knowledge and experience, and QI project support. The authors present these themes as interconnected rather than separate factors.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that recognizing how these themes fit together is vital for sustained improvements in health care outcomes. They also suggest that future research should examine the role of organizational culture in optimizing QI initiatives.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers conducted a systematic scoping review of the literature on factors influencing QI capacity development in hospitals. They searched CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library, appraised study quality with the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool, and used NVivo software for coding and thematic analysis.

    What worked and what didn't

    Across 21 studies, the review identified accountability and priority setting, strategic management, collaboration, knowledge and experience, and project support as the main factors linked to QI capacity. The abstract does not report any interventions that failed, but it does describe the need for adequate resources and backing as part of project support.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary is based on 21 studies, so the findings reflect the available literature included in the review. The abstract does not describe specific limitations of the included studies beyond noting that future research should explore organizational culture.

    • The review identified five themes linked to hospital QI capacity.
    • The themes were accountability and priority setting, strategic management, collaboration, knowledge and experience, and project support.
    • The authors describe these themes as interconnected.
    • The review included 21 studies and used thematic analysis of extracted data.
    • The abstract calls for more research on organizational culture.

  • EBPAS showed adequate fit in Puerto Rican mental health professionals

    What the study found

    The study found that a tailored 15-item version of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale had adequate psychometric properties in a sample of Puerto Rican mental health professionals. The scale’s first-order factor model was supported, and most subscales showed strong reliability.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that the scale may be useful for assessing attitudes toward evidence-based practices, meaning research-based interventions, in Spanish-speaking and Caribbean mental health settings. They also say the findings add to the limited literature on culturally and linguistically validated measures in Latin America.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers administered a culturally and linguistically tailored version of the 15-item Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale to 222 Puerto Rican mental health professionals working in schools, healthcare clinics, and community organizations. They used confirmatory factor analysis, a statistical method for testing whether a proposed set of underlying factors fits the data, along with reliability estimates and model fit checks in RStudio.

    What worked and what didn't

    The confirmatory factor analysis supported a first-order factor model. Most subscales had strong reliability coefficients, ranging from 0.83 to 0.91, while the divergence subscale had a lower coefficient of 0.77. After allowing covariance between two items in the appeal dimension, the correlated factor model showed satisfactory fit, although some misspecification was observed.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract describes a sample from Puerto Rico, so the findings are limited to that group and the settings studied. The summary also notes some model misspecification, but it does not provide more detailed limitations.

    • A tailored 15-item Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale was tested in 222 Puerto Rican mental health professionals.
    • The first-order factor model was supported by confirmatory factor analysis.
    • Most subscales showed strong reliability, with coefficients between 0.83 and 0.91.
    • The divergence subscale had a lower reliability coefficient of 0.77.
    • Allowing covariance between two appeal items improved model fit, though some misspecification remained.