An estimated 5.7 and 8.4 million deaths per year occur among people who use health care services because of poor quality of care in low and middle-income countries, accounting for as much as 15% of all deaths (1). This harm to patients rarely results from a single mistake. Instead, it usually arises from a combination of interacting factors within complex healthcare environments. This is why Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) as a structured and ongoing approach to improving processes and outcomes is important.

To prevent harm, healthcare facilities need to take deliberate steps to ensure they are consistently providing care that reflects what matters to patients: care that is Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable, and Patient-Centered (2). They can only do this by applying improvement science; testing new interventions, learning from the data they generate, and sharing lessons.

This is the foundation of the ACQUIRE QI-PS Experiential Leadership Program: learning by doing. We believe that while theoretical learning is important, true learning can only be achieved by doing; and by doing repeatedly within and across institutions.