Quality tools applied to the emergency car checking: mixed methods research

ABSTRACT

Objective

to verify the causes of the not checking of the emergency car and the effect on the adherence rate by using quality tools in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Method

mixed methods research of sequential exploratory design, developed with nurses and a documentary source in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a university hospital, in three stages: 1) Brainstorming to survey the causes of not checking/ building a Checklist; 2) Data collection/analysis by applying the Pareto Checklist and Diagram; 3) Documentary analysis. The chi-square test was used to verify the effect of using quality tools in the adherence to checking.

Results

13 causes of not checking of the emergency car were identified, eight of which are preventable and five non-preventable. The preventable causes (n=63) represented 87.5%, the main ones being: lack of habit (n=17; 27%), prioritizing care activities (n=17; 27%), and dividing the care of patients / prioritize administrative activities (n=9; 14.3%). The application of quality tools had a significant effect (p-value <0.001) in the adherence to checking.

Conclusion and implications for practice

the use of quality tools was feasible for the causal identification of the daily emergency car not checking and improvement in its adherence.

Keywords:
Quality management; Quality of health care; Patient safety; Health management; Intensive care units, neonatal