Understanding Nursing Research

According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, a Quality Improvement Plan is a plan that provides "a formal ongoing process by which the organization and stakeholders utilize objective measures to monitor and evaluate the quality of services, both clinical and operational, provided to the patients. The QI Plan, which often addresses general medical, behavioral health and oral health care and services, defines and facilitate a systematic approach to identify and pursue opportunities to improve services and resolve identified problems." (HRSA 2011)

In other words, a Quality Improvement Plan is a a resource that guides facilities and practitioners as they seek to improve an aspect of the care they provide.

Quality Improvement Plans are a great resource for more than just the facilities that implement them. They can be excellent resources to examine when conducting research. While they may not count as primary, peer reviewed research articles, researchers can learn a great deal about best practices and get ideas for projects to try in their own care settings.