Methods for Improving Quality in Healthcare for Reducing Infant or Maternal Mortality in Haiti - A C

Reducing infant or maternal mortality

Improving quality in HIV services

Improving health and wellbeing outcomes for older adults with care needs

Focusing on a particular country - Haiti

Identifying the relevant sectors and healthcare structures for the topic area within that country

Focusing on a particular outcome or outcomes – to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV

Identifying a relevant service area or intervention – the use of antiretroviral drugs for preventing mother to child transmission.

The essay should critically analyse methods for improving quality in your topic area. You should reference the quality improvement literature (utilising relevant models, processes and/or tools). Your essay should be supported by evidence for effectiveness for interventions which improve the defined outcome(s) in your topic area. You will need to refine the topic areas given above to focus on specific interventions and outcomes. The essay should discuss governance in relation to ensuring quality in reference to the particular country. 

1.Critically evaluate the differences in organisational structure and function and discuss various models of health service financing.

2.Analyse the principles, nature, methods and models of quality improvement in health care in the context of public health.

3.Critically discuss principles and concepts of governance and suggest practical ways to improve health and reduce inequalities using good governance.

•Clear introduction to the quality and practice area, using appropriate information and evidence.

•A specific quality issue is identified within the 3 broad topic areas, which is relevant to public health.

•Evidence based rationale given for the need for quality improvement; Could identify a quality standard, guideline etc

•There is linking to the domains of quality.

•Relevant methodology is selected and referenced appropriately. The choice of method should be justified in relation to the quality issue.
•Methods are critically applied to the quality area (this includes explicit linking to the evidence presented in the introduction and building on this)

•The essay shows an understanding of the relevant health (in its broadest sense) organisations involved in quality (in relation to the specific identified issue) and (briefly) shows an understanding of healthcare financing.

•Governance structures and mechanisms are critically discussed in relation to assuring quality making use of relevant evidence i.e. the discussion of how quality should be improved is informed by principles of governance.

The essay is coherent, takes an evaluative approach and focuses on outcomes (note this is judged across the whole essay – this does not need to be a specific section)

•Overall the essay is coherent – there is a thread throughout the essay which shows a good understanding of the quality improvement process

•There is an outcomes focus – outcomes to be improved are made clear in the introduction and this is reflected across the whole essay.

•There is an evaluative approach to improving quality