Overview

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to critically evaluate the concept of quality within healthcare, and the foundations of different approaches to improving quality. The key themes the module content will include are:

• Quality in health and social care, theoretical and practice perspectives.
• Exploration of external drivers and contextual influences that shape the adoption of different approaches to improvement, and how quality challenges are framed
• Legislative, governance and professional issues in quality and service improvement
• Evaluating improvement
• The components of improvement and performance management
• Evidence base practice and approaches to implementation
• Securing improvement: Co-production and other approaches employed to achieve best practice
• UK and international perspectives in quality and service improvement
• Developing analytic frameworks to support service improvement and outcomes

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Threshold C grade, minimum 50% (pass)- Demonstrate knowledge of key areas/principles.- Have some, if only limited, evidence of background study.- Be focused on the question (assessment brief) with only some irrelevant material and weaknesses in structure- Attempt to present relevant and logical arguments.- Not contain a large number of factual/computational errors.- Describe major links between topics.- Attempt to analyse and/or explain problems.- Be free of major weaknesses in presentation and accuracy. -good -Good B grade, minimum 60% (merit)- Demonstrate strong knowledge and understanding of most of the subject area.- Demonstrate evidence of background study.- Be well structured and focused.- Contain coherently presented arguments.- Be mostly free of factual/computational errors.- Include some elements of original interpretation.- Describe well known links between topics.- Analyse and/or explain problems using existing methods/approaches- Be presented to high standards with accurate communication. -excellent -Excellent A grade, minimum 70% (distinction)- Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and detailed understanding of the subject area.- Demonstrate extensive background study.- Be well structured and highly focussed.- Contain logically presented and defended arguments.- Be free of factual/computational errors.- Include significant elements of original interpretation.- Demonstrate an ability to identify, develop and present new links between topics.- Include new approaches to analysing and/or explaining a problem.- Be presented to very high standards with very accurate communication.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically examine the evaluation of improvement interventions in practice

• Critically review the drivers, facilitators and barriers to improvements in the quality of care

• Examine and review approaches to quality improvement, including the use of research & evidence in health and social care

• Explore & critically analyse the concept of quality including theories & frameworks underpinning different approaches to its improvement in health and social care