Grant: Project Grant

We will examine inappropriate health care in Canada. We define 'inappropriate health care' as: 1) inappropriate clinical practices, meaning underuse, overuse and misuse of clinical practices or 2) inappropriate settings, meaning providing care in a health setting that does not match the patient's clinical characteristics or the practices required for his or her care. The goal of this research project is to inform quality improvement programs across Canada by conducting a systematic review of inappropriate health care in Canada. Our specific research objectives are to: 1) systematically search and critically review published and grey literature for studies of inappropriate health care in Canada; 2) estimate the nature and magnitude of inappropriate health care in Canada and in its provincial and territorial jurisdictions; and 3) inform a research and action agenda for future quality improvement activities aimed at reducing inappropriate health care in Canada. Our main output will be the first-ever evidence-based compendium of inappropriate health care in Canada. From this we will develop and distribute to provincial/territorial and national governments and leaders in health care quality detailed summary reports of inappropriate health care across Canada and in their province/territory. These reports will detail both the nature and the magnitude of inappropriate health care in the jurisdiction for three core care categories: preventive care, acute care, and chronic care. We will also bring together the key stakeholders from across the country involved in health care quality. We will share with them our findings to stimulate discussions with them to inform: i) an action agenda on how to reduce inappropriate health care in Canada, and ii) a research agenda that identifies areas where future research and/or monitoring are needed in inappropriate health care in Canada.