Increasing early childhood education enrollment and attendance rates
This paper reports on a project to increase enrollment and attendance rates at seven early childhood education (ECE) centres in socio-economically deprived areas of Auckland, New Zealand, between January and June 2014. Participating centres used Breakthrough Series collaborative methodology with the Model for Improvement (Langley et al., 2009) to develop and test change ideas according to local context.
Implementation and effects of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for hip and knee replacements and fractured neck of femur in New Zealand orthopaedic services
The National Orthopaedic Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Collaborative was launched in November 2013 to implement ERAS protocols for hip and knee total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and fractured neck of femur (NOF) in participating district health boards (DHBs) by December 2014. This paper reports on the results.
Primary Care Collaboration to Improve Diagnosis and Screening for Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening helps achieve early diagnosis and better outcomes, yet many patients fail to receive recommended screening. As part of an academic improvement collaborative, 25 primary care practices worked to improve CRC screening and diagnosis. The collaborative effectively engaged teams in a broad set of process improvements with key lessons learned related to barriers, information technology challenges, outreach challenges/strategies, and importance of stakeholder and patient engagement.
Target CLAB Zero: A national improvement collaborative to reduce central line-associated bacteraemia in New Zealand intensive care units
Central line-associated bacteraemia (CLAB) is a preventable cause of patient morbidity and mortality in intensive care units. Target CLAB Zero was a national campaign that ran from October 2011 to March 2013 across all New Zealand ICUs (intensive care units). The campaign aimed to reduce the national CLAB rate to less than one incident per 1,000 line days and to establish a national measurement system for CLAB.
Improving public health information: a data quality intervention in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Objective: To evaluate the effect of an intervention to improve the quality of data used to monitor the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of the human immunodeficiency virus in South Africa.
Strategies for the Scale-Up of Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa through Health System Optimization
In the face of the massive burden created by human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other infectious diseases, developing nations must find ways to rapidly begin treatment for infected persons. Although infusions of personnel, supplies, and diagnostics would make a major contribution to expanding the capacity to treat these diseases, the lack of these resources creates a long-term challenge, and there is a need for additional approaches to spread effective interventions that can leverage existing resources and the much-needed infusions of new resources. This article describes one such approach—applied in several forms in South Africa—that aims to significantly increase the number of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.