Chapter 12: Quality of Care: From Quality Assurance and Improvement to Cultures of Patient Safety

Which statement is true regarding the public perception of health care?

a. Health care is considered to be a right.

b. Health care is believed to be accessible to all.

c. Health care is considered to be a privilege.

d. Health care providers administer minimal care.

A

Historically, quality assurance in health care was defined as being which one of the following?

a. Media campaigns targeting satisfied patients

b. Self-regulating activities of various professions

c. Actions designed to improve processes and outcomes

d. Increasing attentiveness and responsiveness to those receiving care

B

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health care includes which of the following actions?

a. Controlling the staffing budget

b. Integrating internet technology into practice

c. Educating staff on principles of primary health care

d. Responding to patient experience surveys

D

The first documented study in health care and nursing based on standards is attributed to

which following person?

a. Jean Watson

b. Virginia Henderson

c. Florence Nightingale

d. Sister Mary Dorothy Ross

C

Which committee became responsible for accrediting hospitals, beginning in 1958?

a. Commission for the Study of Hospitals

b. Joint Committee on Accreditation of Hospitals

c. Canadian Council on Hospital Services Accreditation

d. Canadian Association of Hospital Accreditation Board

C

Which of the following is the common denominator of all quality assurance programs?

a. Process

b. Outcome

c. Standards

d. Structure

C

Which of the following reflects a process standard in the proposed levels for assessing quality?

a. Nursing activities

b. Environmental characteristics

c. Anticipated results of the care provided

d. Philosophy and mission of the institution

A

Which type of validity was established with the majority of instruments that were developed to measure quality assurance?

a. Face validity

b. Content validity

c. Concurrent validity

d. Predictive validity

A

Which one of the following is a limitation of most quality assurance programs?

a. The high validity of the instruments used for evaluation

b. The retrospective focus on achievement of standards

c. The need to achieve predetermined standards in the clinical setting

d. The acceptable reliability of the instruments used for assessment

B

For which percentage of the time were critical standards expected to be achieved in quality assurance programs, in relation to the level established by the program directors?

a. 50%

b. 75%

c. 90%

d. 100%

D

What is the goal of methods used to standardize the process of continuous quality improvement?

a. Detection of errors

b. Prevention of errors

c. Identification of people problems

d. Evaluation of organizational functioning

B

Which one of the following is an associated domain of outcomes measurement?

a. Nursing care plans

b. Nursing care pathways

c. Evidence-informed best practice guidelines

d. Professional association standards of practice

C

What clinical outcome was supported in the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) Survey Standards in the early 1990s and is now reflected in the C-HOBIC standards of care in Canada?

a. A quality improvement focus

b. Facility-wide integration of processes

c. Clinical outcomes for evidence-informed nursing practice

d. Methods for identifying unsafe practice by health care providers

C

Which one of the following is a modern example of a quality-monitoring instrument?

a. A chart audit

b. A workload measurement tool

c. A Pareto chart for delay in patient transfer

d. A performance appraisal process

C

Which following quality management tool would be the most appropriate for displaying data over time—for example, showing the length of time a non-emergent patient waits to see a nurse in the emergency department?

a. A flow chart

b. A histogram

c. A run chart

d. A check sheet

C