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Conceptualizing and assessing improvement capability: a review.

Joy Furnival1, Ruth Boaden2, Kieran Walshe3

  • 1Improvement Directorate, 133-155 Waterloo Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8UG, UK.

International Journal for Quality in Health Care : Journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care
|October 10, 2017
PubMed
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This review highlights the inconsistent conceptualization and assessment of improvement capability across sectors. Future research requires clearer definitions and robustly tested instruments for reliable measurement.

Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Management
  • Organizational Development
  • Quality Improvement

Background:

  • Improvement capability is crucial for organizational success, yet its definition and measurement remain inconsistent.
  • Existing literature lacks a unified understanding of how to assess an organization's capacity for improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and analyze existing instruments and frameworks for assessing improvement capability.
  • To identify conceptual ambiguities and research gaps in the measurement of improvement capability.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic, iterative literature search was conducted across all sectors, including healthcare.
  • Analysis of 70 identified instruments and frameworks, extracting data on their origin, application, constructs, and testing.
Keywords:
external quality assessmenthuman resourcesother quality evaluation (EFQM)quality culturequality improvementquality managementtraining/education

Related Experiment Videos

  • Focus on English-language literature.

    • Main Results:

    • Significant heterogeneity exists in the constructs of reviewed instruments, indicating conceptual ambiguity in improvement capability.
    • Two-thirds of instruments underwent reliability testing, and half underwent validity testing.
    • Many instruments lack a strong theoretical basis and widespread application.

    Conclusions:

    • A clearer, consistent conceptual and terminological definition of improvement capability is needed across disciplines and sectors.
    • A proposed synthetic framework with eight dimensions offers a path forward for consistent assessment.
    • Future instruments require rigorous testing for reliability and validity to enhance practice and research.