International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2013
Utilization of non-US educated nurses in US hospitals: implications for hospital mortality.
To determine whether, and under what circumstance, US hospital employment of non-US-educated nurses is associated with patient outcomes. ⋯ Employing non-US-educated nurses has a negative impact on patient mortality except where patient-to-nurse ratios are lower than average. Thus, US hospitals should give priority to achieving adequate nurse staffing levels, and be wary of hiring large percentages of non-US-educated nurses unless patient-to-nurse ratios are low.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2013
Validation of the French version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire.
To assess the psychometric properties of the French version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire (HSOPSC) and study the hierarchical structure of the measured dimensions. ⋯ The French HSOPSC questionnaire showed acceptable psychometric properties. Classification of the dimensions should guide future development of safety culture improving action plans.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2013
Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture in Slovenia: a psychometric evaluation.
To study the psychometric properties of a translated version of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) in the Slovenian setting. ⋯ The original 12-factor model for the HSOPSC was a good fit for a translated version of the instrument for use in the Slovene setting.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Sep 2013
Proposed standards for the design and conduct of a national clinical audit or quality improvement study.
The purposes were to find and synthesize available literature on explicit or implicit standards for the design and conduct of a national activity that involves measuring and facilitating improvement of the quality of patient care, such as a national clinical audit or a quality improvement (QI) study, and to develop proposed standards for the design and conduct of the national activity. DATA SOURCES, SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: The literature was searched to identify key aspects of good practice in the conduct of national or international clinical audits, QI studies, performance or quality indicator measurements or equivalent national initiatives that have the purpose of driving improvement in the quality of care provided in a healthcare system. Key aspects of good practice in design or operation of these activities were abstracted from the literature, and organized logically into standard statements according to the stages in the design or conduct of such an activity. ⋯ It is hoped that these proposed standards for a national clinical audit or QI study will facilitate debate on how to assure the quality of these national activities. Activities that meet accepted standards may be more effective in influencing participating sites to achieve improvements in the quality of care.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Jul 2013
Comparative StudyAssessment of competency in clinical measurement: comparison of two forms of sequential test and sensitivity of test error rates to parameter choice.
To assess clinical measurement competency by two sequential test formulations [resetting sequential probability ratio test (R-SPRT) and learning curve cumulative summation (LC-CUSUM)]. ⋯ With equivalent parameters, the R-SPRT and LC-CUSUM formulations of sequential tests produced different outcomes, demonstrating that the choice of test method, as well as the choice of parameters, is important in designing a training scheme. The R-SPRT detects incompetence as well as competence and may indicate need for further training. Simulations are valuable in estimating the proportions of trainees expected to be assessed as competent.