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BMC Emergency Medicine
Published in: BMC Emergency Medicine 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Identifying priorities for quality improvement at an emergency Department in Ghana

Authors: Annelies DeWulf, Elom H. Otchi, Sari Soghoian

Published in: BMC Emergency Medicine | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Healthcare quality improvement (QI) is a global priority, and understanding the perspectives of frontline healthcare workers can help guide sustainable and meaningful change. We report a qualitative investigation of emergency department (ED) staff priorities for QI at a tertiary care hospital in Ghana. The aims of the study were to educate staff about the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of quality in healthcare, and to identify an initial focus for building a departmental QI program.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ED staff using open-ended questions to probe their understanding and valuation of the six dimensions of quality defined by the WHO. Participants were then asked to rank the dimensions in order of importance for QI. Qualitative responses were thematically analyzed, and ordinal rank-order was determined for quantitative data regarding QI priorities.

Results

Twenty (20) members of staff of different cadres participated, including ED physicians, nurses, orderlies, a security officer, and an accountant. A majority of participants (61%) ranked access to emergency healthcare as high priority for QI. Two recurrent themes - financial accessibility and hospital bed availability - accounted for the majority of discussions, each linked to all the dimensions of healthcare quality.

Conclusions

ED staff related all of the WHO quality dimensions to their work, and prioritized access to emergency care as the most important area for improvement. Participants expressed a high degree of motivation to improve healthcare quality, and the study helped with the development of a departmental QI program focused on the broad topic of access to ED services.
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Metadata
Title
Identifying priorities for quality improvement at an emergency Department in Ghana
Authors
Annelies DeWulf
Elom H. Otchi
Sari Soghoian
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Emergency Medicine / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-227X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-017-0139-0

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Erratum to: Factors affecting the exposure, vulnerability and emergency medical service capacity for victims of road traffic incidents in Kampala Metropolitan Area: a Delphi study