scholarly journals A Quality Improvement Project to Increase the Rate of HPV Vaccination Initiation in Adolescents

The vaccination rate of the human papilloma virus vaccine [9vHPV] is low, with only 63% of eligible females and 50% eligible males receiving the vaccine in 2016. The aim of this quality improvement project was to increase the initiation rate of HPV vaccination at Smyrna Pediatrics by 20%, from 3.6% to 4.3% over four weeks. Two physicians, one nurse practitioner, and two medical assistants implemented this quality improvement initiative. There is a lack of education and standardized communication about HPV and 9vHPV to prevent against the virus. A standardized script was created so that all conversations between healthcare professionals and patients and their parents or guardians included the wording of the 9vHPV being recommended rather than optional. Educational material from the CDC was the standard handout given to each adolescent and their parent or guardian. Standardized education and communication was to be provided at each adolescent visit of the 125 eligible adolescents seen during the four-week implementation period, 4% (n = 5) agreed to receive the 9vHPV vaccine. With a baseline of 3.6% (n = 4), there was an 11.1% increase of initiation of 9vHPV. The use of standardized education documents presented to all patients and their parents or guardians established health education as the mainstay of the project and provided information about the importance of prevention and protection from the virus that the vaccine prevents. The implementation of results over a longer period of time may prove to be more effective for the practice’s increase of vaccination rates overall.

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S181-S182
Author(s):  
Fraser Currie ◽  
Rashi Negi ◽  
Hari Shanmugaratnam

AimsThis quality improvement project aims to improve the quality of information provided in the referrals from the older adult psychiatry department to radiology when requesting neuroradiological imaging.The secondary outcome aims to standardise information on the referral proforma. We hypothesise that this improved referral proforma will lead to improved quality of reporting from the radiology department, which will form the second stage of this quality improvement project.A further area of interest of this exercise is to establish whether standardised radiological scoring systems are requested in the referral, as these can be utilised as a means to standardise reported information.MethodRetrospective electronic case analysis was performed on 50 consecutive radiology referrals for a period of 3 months from November 2019 to January 2020. Data were obtained from generic MRI and CT referral proforma and entered into a specifically designed data collection tool. Recorded were patient demographics, provisional diagnosis, modality of imaging, use of ACE-III cognitive score, radiological scoring systems, and inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultResults from 50 referrals have shown: 60% were male, 40% female. Average patient age of 74, ranging from 49 to 95. 58% were referred for CT head with 42% for MRI head. More than half of referrals quoted the ACE-III score. 26% of referrals stated exclusion criteria such as space occupying lesions, haemorrhages or infarcts. 10% of referrals requested specific neuro-radiological scoring scales. Specific scales which were requested included GCA (global cortical atrophy), MTA scale (medial temporal atrophy), Koedam scale (evidence of parietal atrophy) and Fazekas (evidence of vascular changes). Only 80% of referrals included the patients GP details on the referral form.Conclusion1. This quality improvement initiative has highlighted that the current level of information in referring patient to radiology is variable and dependent on the referrer.2. All referrals should state exclusion criteria as per the NICE guidelines on neuroimaging in diagnosis of dementia.3. Preliminary evidence suggests that requesting specific radiological rating scales could improve the quality of information received in the imaging report. The second part of this quality improvement initiative will aim to explore the impact of requesting these scales routinely.


Author(s):  
Darren Savarimuthu ◽  
Katja Jung

Background/aims This article describes a quality improvement project that aimed to reduce restrictive interventions on an acute psychiatric ward. In light of a service level agreement and based on a trust-wide target, the purpose of the project was to reduce restrictive interventions by 20% within a period of 6 months. It was also anticipated that a least restrictive environment could have a positive impact on patient experience. Methods Three evidence-based interventions were introduced to the ward during the quality improvement project. These included positive behaviour support, the Safewards model and the productive ward initiative. Results There was a 63% reduction in restrictive interventions over a 6-month period through the successful implementation of a series of evidence-based interventions to manage behaviours that challenge on the mental health ward. Conclusions The project identified collaborative team working, staff training and adequate resources as essential elements in the success of the quality improvement initiative. However, co-production was found to be crucially significant in bringing sustainable changes in ward environment and in addressing restrictive practices.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 (6) ◽  
pp. 588-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann McGaffey ◽  
Nicole Payette Lombardo ◽  
Nathan Lamberton ◽  
Patricia Klatt ◽  
Jason Siegel ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Yelland ◽  
Mary Anne Biro ◽  
Wendy Dawson ◽  
Elisha Riggs ◽  
Dannielle Vanpraag ◽  
...  

Objective The aim of the study was to improve the engagement of professional interpreters for women during labour. Methods The quality improvement initiative was co-designed by a multidisciplinary group at one Melbourne hospital and implemented in the birth suite using the plan-do-study-act framework. The initiative of offering women an interpreter early in labour was modified over cycles of implementation and scaled up based on feedback from midwives and language services data. Results The engagement of interpreters for women identified as requiring one increased from 28% (21/74) at baseline to 62% (45/72) at the 9th month of implementation. Conclusion Improving interpreter use in high-intensity hospital birth suites is possible with supportive leadership, multidisciplinary co-design and within a framework of quality improvement cycles of change. What is known about the topic? Despite Australian healthcare standards and policies stipulating the use of accredited interpreters where needed, studies indicate that services fall well short of meeting these during critical stages of childbirth. What does the paper add? Collaborative approaches to quality improvement in hospitals can significantly improve the engagement of interpreters to facilitate communication between health professionals and women with low English proficiency. What are the implications for practice? This language services initiative has potential for replication in services committed to improving effective communication between health professionals and patients.


2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
pp. S-531
Author(s):  
Laura C. White ◽  
Chad Spangler ◽  
Jessica Rosenblum ◽  
Shannon Sweeney ◽  
Emily E. Homan ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 661-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Busby ◽  
Kumiko Owada ◽  
Samish Dhungana ◽  
Susan Zimmermann ◽  
Victoria Coppola ◽  
...  

BackgroundRapid delivery of IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in qualifying patients leads to better clinical outcomes. The American Heart Association has reduced target door-to-needle (DTN) times from 60 to 45 min in the hopes of continued process improvements across institutions.ObjectiveTo start a quality improvement project called CODE FAST in order to reduce DTN times at our institution.Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed data from our internally maintained database of patients treated with intravenous tPA before and after implementation of the CODE FAST protocol. We assessed demographic information, time of day and times of arrival to first image and delivery of tPA in patients from February 2014 to February 2015. Outcomes were assessed based on discharge to home. Univariate analysis was performed to assess for improvement in DTN times before and after implementation of the protocol.ResultsA total of 93 patients (41 pre-CODE FAST and 52 post-CODE FAST) received IV tPA during the study period. Patients were equally matched between the two groups except that in the pre-CODE FAST era patients receiving tPA were younger and more likely to be men. There was a substantial reduction in door-to-imaging time from a median of 16 to 8 min (p<0.0001) and DTN time with a reduction in the median from 62 to 25 min (p<0.0001). In logistic regression modeling, there was a trend towards more discharges to home in patients treated during the CODE FAST era.ConclusionsWe present a quality improvement project that has been overwhelmingly successful in reducing DTN time to <30 min. The template we present may be helpful to other institutions looking to reduce their DTN times and may also reduce costs as we note a trend towards more discharges to home.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e000770
Author(s):  
Natalya Elizabeth O'Neill ◽  
Jillian Baker ◽  
Richard Ward ◽  
Colleen Johnson ◽  
Linda Taggart ◽  
...  

Asplenia and hyposplenia (a/hyposplenia) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality from complications including infection. The recommended measures to reduce the risks associated with infection include patient education, vaccination and early initiation of antibiotic therapy for fever. Despite these recommendations, there is poor adherence to best practice management of patients with asplenia or hyposplenia (PWA/H). We present the development methodology and pilot data of a quality improvement project that explored whether a programme involving a novel medical alert card together with a patient and healthcare provider educational booklet increased vaccination rates and improved awareness and understanding of the infectious implications of a/hyposplenia. Our aim was to increase the proportion of those appropriately vaccinated and the proportion of patients with proper understanding of fever management by twofold in 18 months. Questionnaires were used locally as a root-cause-analysis to confirm the need for education and evaluate the effectiveness of the programme, as well as patient satisfaction. An interdisciplinary team developed a toolkit composed of a medical alert card and booklet. The toolkit was distributed to PWA/H who presented for a haematology clinic visit at a tertiary care centre. A separate set of questionnaires was then used to evaluate satisfaction and obtain feedback from patients and practitioners receiving the toolkit for the first time. Changes suggested by patients and practitioners with unanimous agreement among study investigators were made to the toolkit. The pilot study showed an increase in vaccination rates and awareness of vaccination status and appropriate fever management. The majority of the patients and practitioners found the information provided by the toolkit helpful. Given these promising single-centre findings, the intervention is being extended to another tertiary care centre with a large red blood cell disorders programme to evaluate its generalisability. The next step will be to expand the scope to paediatric PWA/H.


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