Quality improvement and research are two contrasting terms applied in the healthcare environment. Research refers to a methodical study tailored to add generalizable knowledge (Foster, 2013). The outcomes of the investigation are not meant for instant application in clinical practice. Researchers use systematic plans and carefully pay attention to design, research approaches, sampling processes, environment, and statistical procedures while conducting an investigation (Foster, 2013).
Hospitals perform research to determine the effectiveness of interventions, investigate medical phenomena, and obtain information and trends in different health issues. The discovered findings can be generalized in other contexts and populations, which are clinically and statistically significant for improving results.
On the other hand, quality improvement (QI) refers to a framework for gathering data to enhance healthcare processes and outcomes in a particular healthcare environment (Foster, 2013). Hospitals aim to use QI initiatives to create an immediate improvement in healthcare practices, care quality, and patient outcomes (Foster, 2013).
Healthcare practitioners conduct QI activities deliberately under the guidance of the data reflecting different processes to determine the gaps that must be fixed. There is no general application of QI results in other populations and contexts since similar findings cannot be obtained elsewhere and environmental factors affecting outcomes cannot be controlled.
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Workplace Example Where Qualitative and Quantitative Research Is Applied and How It Was Used Within My Hospital (Operating Room)
Healthcare organizations can use qualitative and quantitative research to accomplish different activities. In the clinical workplace, healthcare providers use qualitative research to perform ethnographic studies (Al-Busaidi, 2008). Johnson & Johnson is an example of a firm that conducts ethnography to study its target market and understand consumer behavior to design medical products based on people’s healthcare needs.
In my hospital, nurses perform ethnographic study (qualitative research) to gather data about health beliefs and norms of a certain culture and comprehend the implications of patients’ behavior in order to make clinical decisions and deliver better nursing care.
On the other hand, nurses at Cleveland Clinic apply quantitative research by conducting quantitative tests to measure glucose levels. Healthcare providers at the hospital carry out blood glucose tests to screen, assess, and treat patients with diabetes-related complications.
References
Al-Busaidi, Z. Q. (2008). Qualitative research and its uses in health care. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 8(1), 11-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3087733/
Foster, J. (2013). Differentiating Quality Improvement and Research Activities. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 27(1), 10–13. https://www.doi.org/10.1097/nur.0b013e3182776db5
