Quality Indicators

How do you define quality as it pertains to health care and the practice of nursing? Some nurses may define quality as effective interdisciplinary teamwork that results in better patient-health outcomes, while hospital administrators may define quality as appropriately delegated responsibilities, completion of tasks, and effective patient flow. Due to the subjective nature of the term, quality is a topic of great debate.

In an effort to define quality in health care, standards have been developed to establish consistency and provide guidance. The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) outlines nursing-sensitive indicators that encompass measurement scales for quality of nurse professionals as well as quality of the services provided by nurses to patients. In this week’s Discussion, you evaluate the determinants of quality.m based on the NDNQI indicators and the theoretical underpinnings of these quality indicators. You apply nursing-sensitive indicators to your current setting and assess how each definition of quality contributes to the idea of quality overall.

To prepare:

• Review      the NDNQI indicators presented in the Learning Resources that emphasize      quality. Focus on those indicators that pertain to your practice setting (Hospital).
• Consider      the influence of early quality improvement theories and philosophies on      the development of those quality indicators.
• Using      the Walden Library, locate at least two scholarly research articles that      discuss how quality indicators influence your practice setting.
• Select      one definition of quality published by any peer-reviewed source that      particularly resonates with your thinking about quality.

Post a cohesive scholarly response that addresses the following:

1. Identify two nurse-sensitive indicators of quality that relate to patient care and analyze the influence of early quality improvement theories and philosophies on the development of those indicators.  For this exercise, do not choose nurse sensitive indicators that relate to staffing levels.
2. Find and cite at least 2 nursing research articles you located and evaluate how these indicators influence a practice setting (See attached PDF for the 2 Articles).