Use a systematic, structured approach to improve patient experience of care and access to person-centered contraceptive counseling and care.

Evidenced-Based Intervention

To improve patient experience of care and access to person-centered contraceptive counseling and care, it is important for improvement teams to use a systematic, structured approach. The model for improvement is a tool for change management.1 It is not meant to replace other models that CHCs already use for QI work; rather, it provides a framework for accelerating improvement. The model has two parts:

  • Three fundamental questions, which can be addressed in any order:

    • What are we trying to accomplish?

    • How will we know that change is an improvement?

    • What changes can we make that will result in improvement?

  • Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles aimed at testing changes in real work settings. For additional information on how to operationalize PDSA cycles as part of an improvement process, refer to the Improvement Process section of the Clinical Operations category area.
Action Step(s)
  • Engage and encourage the participation of all staff affected by QI work to be implemented as part of this project; those individuals who comprise the QI team and how they are engaged with change is just as important as identifying opportunities and setting goals for improvement. 

  • Identify process measures and other data and information that can be used to assess whether changes implemented resulted in improvements.

  • Assess overlap between this project and other QI efforts at the CHC, both current and past, as strategies used and lessons-learned from other projects might be applicable to this project.

Tools & Resources