Bhat L, McCammon C, et al.
Current bladder dysfunction reports. Date of publication 2021 Jan 1;volume 16(1):1-5.
1. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep. 2021;16(1):1-5. doi: 10.1007/s11884-020-00623-y.
Epub 2021 Mar 5.
The Importance of Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Low- and
Middle-Income Settings.
Bhat L(1), McCammon C(1).
Author information:
(1)Eastern Virginia Medical School, Emergency Physicians of Tidewater, 600
Gresham Drive, Raleigh Building, Rm 304, Norfolk, VA 23207 USA.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review will discuss the importance of quality
improvement in low- and middle-income settings as well as several potential
barriers to these measures.
RECENT FINDINGS: There is substantial potential for growth in the field of
quality improvement in low-resource settings. The extent of quality improvement
(QI) research in low-resource settings is limited but expanding.
SUMMARY: Patient harm that is attributable to the costs of poor quality is a
significant factor in all practice settings but is arguably of greater impact in
limited-resource settings. Due to the recognized human, physical, and
technological resource limitations in low- and middle-income countries, the
delivery of quality healthcare can be variable in many settings, with
discrepancies in evidence-based, evidence-informed, and customary care
processes. Disparities in training and development of workforce providers exist
in addition to limited availability of funding for QI research. Governmental,
health ministry, and health system support is also variable. Attention to all of
these areas is ultimately necessary to implement affordable and realistic
quality improvement initiatives, education, training, and patient safety
strategies that can mitigate harms, improve and establish more reliable
outcomes, and develop a culture of safety to grow more sustainable and effective
workforces and systems.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
part of Springer Nature 2021.
DOI: 10.1007/s11884-020-00623-y
PMCID: PMC7933912
PMID: 33688387
Conflict of interest statement: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that
they have no conflict of interest.
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