Monitoring quality at scale: implementing quality assurance in a diverse, multicountry HIV program. (July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Saito, Suzue; Howard, Andrea A.; Chege, Duncan; Ellman, Tanya M.; Ahoua, Laurence; Elul, Batya; Rabkin, Miriam
• Is Part Of: AIDS. Volume 29(2015)Supplement 2
• Publication Date: 2015-07
• Subjects: HIV -- informatics -- Kenya -- monitoring and evaluation -- PEPFAR -- quality -- quality assurance -- quality management -- resource-limited settings; AIDS (Disease) -- Periodicals; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; AIDS (Disease); Periodicals; Periodicals; 616.9792005
• DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000000713
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-9370

Abstract

Abstract : The centrality of quality as a strategy to achieve impact within the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been widely recognized. However, monitoring program quality remains a challenge for many HIV programs, particularly those in resource-limited settings, where human resource constraints and weaker health systems can pose formidable barriers to data collection and interpretation. We describe the practicalities of monitoring quality at scale within a very large multicountry PEPFAR-funded program, based largely at health facilities. The key elements include the following: supporting national programs and strategies; developing a conceptual framework and programmatic model to define quality and guide the provision of high-quality services; attending to program context, as well as program outcomes; leveraging existing and routinely collected data whenever possible; developing additional indicators for judicious use in targeted, in-depth assessments; providing hands-on support for data collection and use at the facility, sub-national, and national levels; utilizing web-based databases for data entry, analysis, and dissemination; and multidisciplinary support from a large team of clinical and strategic information advisors.