Assessment Item 2: Written Assignment

Word Count: 2,500 words

Weighting  50%

Aim:

The aim of this assignment is for the student to demonstrate an understanding of quality and safety in healthcare, including organisational and nursing strategies for care delivery, and evaluation of standards of care.

Task Details and Criteria

All Australians have the right to receive safe, high quality health care, regardless of the setting

(ACSQHC, 2008).  Information about quality of care within health care organisations is discussed under three (3) categories: Structure, Process and Outcome (Donabedian, 1988).

• Structure – the context in which health care is delivered, inclusive of its buildings, its staff, its financial structures, and all its varied equipment.
• Process – activities, procedures, processes that are actually conducted in giving and receiving care.
• Outcomes – the effects of the care on the health status of the patient or patient population.

Information gathered about the processes used to deliver care is identified as Process data. Information about the resultant outcomes is identified as Outcome data. A clear relationship is identified in literature between Process and Outcome (Donabedian, 1988).

For this Assignment, you are required to:

1. Identify and explain the aims and core business of health institutions from the perspective of both the organisation and the nursing sector within the organisation
2. Identify and explain Process data and Outcome data in the context of quality and safety in health care
3. Use one (1) example of a clinical care activity for which process and outcome data is collected to:

• Discuss the clinical care activity in relation to quality and safety,
• Critically analyse scholarly literature and relevant resources to discuss the process and outcome data collected about that activity,
• Discuss how these data are used in relation to quality and safety in health care institutions.

Refer to the marking criteria for specific details

Presentation

To be presented in Essay format:

• Please refer to the Assignment Writing and Referencing Guidelines on the course site for information, on formatting, (including line spacing, font, page number and title page information) as well as referencing
• Ensure that you use scholarly literature[1] (digitised readings, research articles, relevant Government reports and text books) that has been published within the last 7 years.
• Include an assignment cover sheet, and title page with your essay, but you do not need to include the marking guide.

Submission

• Check your work thoroughly
• Save a copy
• Submit your assignment for review in the Draft Turnitin point.
• Upload the completed essay to the appropriate Turnitin submission point via your course site.
• Check that your assignment has uploaded correctly.

Other information

Terms:

Identify: Establish what something is.

Explain: make clear why something happens, or why something is the way it is. This will require critical reading of the literature and written analysis that demonstrates your understanding of key concepts/learning outcomes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).

Reference for Structure Process Outcome:

Donabedian, A. (1988). The quality of care: How can it be assessed? JAMA, 260 (12): 1145–1150.