Date of Award
Fall 10-18-2021
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
PhD Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
Advisor
Mary Ellen Roberts, DNP
Committee Member
Teresa Conklin, DNP
Committee Member
Patricia Pappas, DNP
Keywords
Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement, College Health, Student, AAAHC
Abstract
The time has come for figureheads in higher education to address and strengthen Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Improvement (QI) in college health. Goals and objectives should be designed to pursue better care and health. Quality Assurance (QA) strives to guarantee that health care providers are adhering to their policies, procedures, and protocols. Compliance may be monitored by intermittent audits, peer review activities, and inspections. QA answers the question, “are we meeting the standards?” This project attempted to provide these standards through the development of a QA/QI policy and procedure which reflects ideologies set forth by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Quality Improvement (QI) focuses on systems and measures current processes with the intent to make things better. It relies on teamwork, committed leadership, and system wide goal setting. QI asks the question, “why didn’t we meet the standards?” This project aims to create and implement a QA/QI program in a University Health Center located in a suburb of New Jersey. The program was designed to create high-quality care with an emphasis on patient-centered requirements and management. The project involves both prospective and retrospective review and is aimed at measuring current practices and creating systems to make things better. This on-going process monitors improvements through continuous examination. The initiative incorporates evidence-based care and utilizes tools and data analysis to demonstrate improvements and areas that require enhancement. Improvement practices and methods are important in college health to achieve greater accountability and national accreditation by AAAHC.
Recommended Citation
Hynes-Lifland, Kathleen, "On the Road to Accreditation for Ambulatory Health Care- A College Health Center Quality Assurance and Improvement Program" (2021). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 2932.
https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2932
