The ACQUIRE QI Leadership Forum

Building Quality Improvement into Africa’s Health System Agenda

Nairobi, Kenya
July 18 to 19, 2024
9 am-4 pm

Background

Between 5.7 and 8.4 million deaths are attributed to poor quality care each year in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which represents up to 15% of overall deaths in these countries. According to WHO:

Sixty percent of deaths in LMICs from conditions requiring health care occur due to poor quality care, whereas the remaining deaths result from non-utilization of the health system.
Inadequate quality of care imposes costs of US$ 1.4–1.6 trillion each year in lost productivity in LMICs.
In high-income countries, 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care, and 7 in every 100 hospitalized patients can expect to acquire a healthcare-associated infection.
It has been estimated that high-quality health systems could prevent 2.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease, 900,000 deaths from tuberculosis, 1 million newborn deaths, and half of all maternal deaths each year.
Globally, the essential structures for achieving quality care need to be improved: one in 8 healthcare facilities has no water service, one in 5 has no sanitation service, and one in 6 has no hand hygiene facilities at the points of care.
An estimated 1.8 billion people, or 24% of the world’s population, live in fragile contexts that are challenged in delivering quality essential health services. A large proportion of preventable maternal, childhood, and neonatal deaths occur in these settings.

Whereas the SDG agenda emphasizes the need to bring equity in access to healthcare, addressing UHC without considering the Quality of care shall not produce the desired outcomes for this population. Quality improvement and Patient safety considerations.

Rationale for a QI Leadership Forum

Quality improvement is rapidly being recognized as a tool for improved efficiencies and enhanced patient experience in healthcare. It brings joy to hear that multidisciplinary teams exist in multiple African countries beginning to solve everyday healthcare challenges. Still, the opportunity to ensure the kind of quality care that drives positive patient outcomes and hospital revenue would put us at the base camp of Mt. Everest.

Leading Quality Improvement is Complex and Demanding.
Approaches that Foster Cultural and Behavioural Change are Needed Urgently.
Isn’t having a QI Leadership Community of Practice a Great Idea?

ACQUIRE has the opportunity to put on a QI Leadership Forum, scheduled for July 18-19, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya (50 in-person, and a hybrid option for virtual attendees). In true QI fashion, we want to co-design the forum to ensure it meets the real needs of frontline healthcare for (a) learning, (b) stimulating critical thinking, and (c) understanding evidence-based practice, not just the know-how but the how-to.

Meeting Objectives

The two-day ACQUIRE Leadership Forum will work towards incorporating the following ten intentions:

Facilitate Knowledge Sharing:
- Encourage participants to share their experiences, both challenges and successes, in implementing QI projects within their facilities.
- Provide a platform for the exchange of best practices and innovative solutions.
Promote Reflective Practice:
- Enable participants to reflect on their QI journeys, identifying key lessons learned and areas for improvement.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging self-assessment and critical thinking.
Build a Peer Learning Community:
- Create a supportive network of QI professionals who can offer advice, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities.
- Strengthen relationships among participants to enhance mutual learning and support.
Identify Common Challenges and Solutions:
- Collectively identify the common barriers to successful QI implementation across different facilities.
- Brainstorm and document practical solutions and strategies to overcome these challenges.
Highlight Successful QI Initiatives:
- Showcase successful QI projects to provide inspiration and practical examples of effective strategies.
- Recognize and celebrate the achievements of participants to motivate continued effort and engagement
Enhance QI Skills and Knowledge:
- Provide educational sessions and workshops on key QI methodologies, tools, and techniques.
- Ensure participants leave with enhanced skills and knowledge to apply in their own facilities.
Foster Innovation in QI:
- Encourage creative thinking and innovation in addressing quality improvement challenges.
- Share emerging trends and new approaches in the field of QI.
Develop Action Plans:
- Assist participants in developing actionable plans for implementing QI initiatives in their settings.
- Ensure participants leave with clear next steps and measurable goals for their QI projects.
Promote Accountability and Follow-Up:
- Establish mechanisms for follow-up and accountability to ensure continued progress on QI initiatives.
- Encourage participants to set milestones and report on their progress at future forums.
Enhance Patient-Centered Care:
- Emphasize the importance of patient-centered care in all QI initiatives.
- Share strategies for involving patients and families in the QI process to ensure their needs and preferences are met.

By achieving these objectives, the ACQUIRE QI Leadership Forum can effectively support participants in overcoming challenges, celebrating successes, and fostering a collaborative environment conducive to ongoing quality improvement.

Provisional Agenda

Time	Activity	Session objective
DAY ONE – Thursday, July 18, 2024
Session I – Rationale for Quality Improvement in Healthcare		Why Focus on Healthcare Quality, why is it more urgent now than ever before
TEA BREAK
Session 2 – Quality improvement capabilities across the health system		Building Capacity for Quality Improvement across the health systems Institutional level: Case Study Panel
LUNCH
Session 3 – Essential for a Quality Improvement Tool-Kits / and the challenges , Leadership Involvement		Tool kits for every Quality Improvement
DINNER
Dinner and Storytelling Recognition of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 teams
DAY TWO; Friday 19th July 2024
Session 4 – Engaging the patients and families		Examples from patient centered facilities
TEA BREAK
Session 5 – Intentional Leadership for QI		How to influence Quality improvement and support a culture for organizational learning
LUNCH
Session 6 – The Leader and Others Parallel Sessions		Creating a community of practice
Closing

Desired Outcomes

An active QI community of practice (perhaps a directory listing organizations with a special interest in quality improvement and their roles in the health sector)
A series of presentations documenting lessons from ongoing QI in the African context

Meet The ACQUIRE QI Leadership Forum Planning Committee