A qualitative research approach can be useful at various stages of a quality improvement project – from developing a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of your problem, to designing an intervention that addresses the factors influencing relevant practices, to evaluating both the intended and unintended impacts of your improvement efforts. However, the opportunities for a qualitative research approach to optimize a QI project are often missed. In this masterclass, we will cover the foundations of using qualitative approaches in QI and work with participants to think about how a qualitative research approach could complement the QI methodology within their individual projects.

Note: Students will be required to have a foundation of QI knowledge and to submit a QI project proposal/idea/work in progress at least two weeks prior to the session.

Objectives:

• Develop an outline for a qualitative research approach in your QI project (e.g., formulate a qualitative research question, create a sampling strategy, design an interview/focus group/observation guide, plan for data analysis)
• Develop an understanding of the social and contextual factors that are critical to understand as you plan, implement and evaluate your QI project

Date and time:

• Monday, September 20, 2021, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET

Cost:

• $400 – non-members
• $300 – CQUIPS+ members (25% discount!)

Speakers:

Dr. Katie Dainty is a Research Chair in Patient-Centred Outcomes at North York General Hospital and Associate Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. Her research involves studying issues related to patient and family experience, implementation science, patient-centred outcome measures and quality improvement in community health care environments with a specific focus on survival from sudden cardiac arrest.

Dr. Joanne Goldman is a Scientist at the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Cross-Appointed Researcher at The Wilson Centre for Research in Education, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her research involves the use of social science theory and qualitative research methodologies to study quality improvement and patient safety education and practice, interprofessional education and practice, and continuing professional development.

Leahora Rotteau is a PhD Candidate in Health Services Research at the Institute for Healthcare Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and the Program Manager at the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (CQuIPS). Her research involves the use of qualitative research methodologies and social science theory to study how and why healthcare interventions are implemented and taken up in a range of clinical practice settings.