NUR 630 Quality Data Sources Quality Data Sources

NUR 630 Quality Data Sources Quality Data Sources

In continuous quality improvement, both primary and secondary data are needed.  Surveys and interviews are examples of primary data and are usually collected for a specific research study.  Unfortunately,  it is cost-intensive and prone to biases during data collection that might impair the results.  Primary data can be used as specific research questions rely on real-life data within health care.   Secondary data, which is found in journals and healthcare facilities, provides easily accessible data that encompasses many different areas within the healthcare field.  Secondary data can be used for research,  as in students using the information in classes, or for medical documentation and reimbursement (Schneider et al., 2023).

When using both primary and secondary data, it is useful to combine the information received from both.  Using both data forms can then be used to improve the quality of healthcare.  For example, using the feedback received from a survey that patients took would allow the corporation to understand the problems that need to be addressed from a patient’s point of view.  Integrating secondary data would allow the corporation an advantage by looking into data that other companies have collected.  The research found from other studies allows a company to base quality trials on previous experiences others have tried without having to start at the beginning.  The combination of both primary and secondary data in continuous quality improvement areas helps to save time, money and resources.

Annual assessment of quality of healthcare services is crucial to promoting the accessibility and quality of care services provided. Quality of care services offered is measured by use of a number of dimensions among them, patient centered care, safety, healthy living, effective treatment, care coordination and affordability (Austin & Kachalia, 2020). Healthcare disparities are the variations that exist in terms of access and quality of care among various ethnic and racial groups in the US. There are still disparities in healthcare quality and accessibility between the majority Whites and the minority groups of Blacks, Hispanics. Latinos, and the Asian-Americans (MacLeod et al., 2017). The United States Department of Health and Human Services through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provides annual report that provides a comprehensive analysis of the major healthcare departments and their contribution to ensuring accessibility to quality healthcare by people from all communities and races (Department of Health and Human Services, 2019)

Quality Data Sources Organizer