Grant: CIHR/Regional Partnership Program/Operating Grants

The baseline of our CIHR funded study "Managing Quality in Canadian Hospitals" followed up the suggestion of the Canadian adverse events study to study work environments in hospitals which contribute to the occurrence of adverse events. The baseline stage conducted in the 3 hospitals of the Saskatoon Health Region, verified our models of quality. For providers, quality was found to be a function of: task structure, distress, staff morale, organizational culture and technical capabilities. For patients, quality of care was found to be a function of: care provided by the primary doctor; the nurses on the nursing unit; and observations regarding diagnostic/therapies provided. This application seeks renewal to conduct knowledge transfer and follow-up stages. The challenges to be met in this research: 1.Having learned how to measure work environment factors that management can act upon the challenge now is to develop these tools as part of systematic quality improvement. 2.Having learned how to measure patients' and providers' ratings of quality, the challenge now is to learn how to improve the patients' abilities to rate the quality of their care, thus making patients more influential in systematic efforts to improve quality of care. A multi-disciplinary and mixed methods approach, involving patients, nurses, doctors, and administrators in the medical, surgical, peri-operative and critical care units of three hospitals will be used. Engagement with managers, including a national advisory committee, is an integral part of the research.