Elevating Patients’ Voices!
Are you a frontline healthcare worker in Africa excited about testing change ideas?
Share your story of testing a change idea and win big!
As part of the World Patient Safety celebrations this year, ACQUIRE is excited to invite all frontline healthcare workers and leadership in Africa to participate in this unique opportunity to contribute your insights and experiences to the ongoing conversation about quality improvement in healthcare.
This year’s theme for World Patient Safety celebrations is Engaging Patients for Patient Safety. We therefore invite you to share narratives on projects on Quality Improvement, Patient Safety or on areas you feel Patients’ Voices were heard.
How do you participate?
Share with us an abstract together with video evidence of your Quality Improvement work.
Abstract:
Summarise the essence of the story in an abstract format. Highlight the action for improvement, the data collected, the lessons learnt and the resultant change. Abstracts should be submitted in this format: Title; Author; Affiliation & Contact Email; Background/Purpose/Rationale; Methods; Results; Discussion; and Conclusion and Recommendations.
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Video:
Along with abstract, submit a compelling video presentation that brings the story to life. The videos could incorporate testimonials, before and after scenarios, or any visual elements that communicate the evidence of change
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluators will be looking for: your specific aim; the problem you are solving; the data you captured to determine progress; the steps you used for testing change and lessons learnt.
The persons involved (staff, patients or other stakeholders) shall need to be specified. The change idea shall need to be specified.
Explain the model or methods used to identify, prioritise or analyse the issue, or implement the change idea.
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is shorthand for testing a change — by planning it, trying it, observing the results, and acting on what is learned.
Here is an illustration of how one can use the PDSA cycle to test change:
Depending on the aim, one can choose promising changes and use a PDSA cycle to test a change quickly on a small scale, see how it works, and refine the change as necessary before implementing it on a broader scale. The following example shows how a team started with a small-scale test.
Aim: Improving patient waiting time in the Maternal and Child Health clinics
Problem statement; Mother complains that it takes too long to complete an ANC visit at the MUKA health facility. In the last two years the number of ANC attendance has reduced by 30%. Looking at the ANC suggestion book, the mothers suggested addressing waiting time before seeing the midwife and also the laboratory processes. One mentioned having spent a whole day.
Stakeholders; Mothers attending ANC at MUKA health facility, the Nurse midwives, the doctors and the laboratory staff.
Data collected; Qualitative; narratives of the patients expectation concerning waiting time-used to build a pareto chart and Quantitative data; Number of women attending ANC or Turn around time ANC-using a run chart.
Mode/ used/ Approach used ; MFI Model for Improvement (You can specify any other model used)
What is the aim?
What change do we want?
What are we measuring?
Plan: Having done the above three: Who are the stakeholders; what do we intend to address; what are our measures of success; who will do what; when will that be done; where are the resources; who else may be impacted or shall impact this process; what are the beneficiaries voice about the issue(Consider the above)
Do: We implemented ABC among ABC; activities that were carried out; the data that was captured along the way; the experiences of the implementors documented.
Study: Reflecting on what happened: How did we perform compared to projected; what was the experience of the providers, the beneficiaries;? What are the reflections from the teams.
Act: Dr. J. will replicate this approach with the next five patients and set up a planned visit for those who say yes.
Submission Process
1. Content Creation: Submit a short video story along with an abstract describing the test of change story (following a PDSA cycle)
2. Verification: Provide two references who can provide additional information on your QI story (at least one of the references should be in a supervisory/management role)
3. Submission deadline: Send in your video story and abstract before 22nd September 2023, 2359 hours EAT
4. Reviewing process: A panel comprising healthcare experts, quality improvement, and patient safety advocates, will evaluate the change stories based on the criteria provided. All submissions will receive written feedback from the review panel.
5. Awards and Presentation: The top 10 narratives will receive cash awards and will get a chance to share their stories on our platforms, offering a broader audience the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by these narratives.
Contest Guidelines
1. Originality and Verifiability: We are seeking stories that are unique and authentic. All submissions must be the original work of the participants and should be verifiable in case of need. This means that we shall need contact details of a referee/ colleague/ supervisor to verify your submissions
2. Measurable Impact: Narratives should provide measurable or demonstrable evidence of the impact on patients or hospital systems. This could include statistics, testimonials, or before-and-after scenarios. Whether it's impact on an individual patient's journey or part of a collective effort that led to tangible system-wide improvements, we want to hear about it.
3. Timeliness: The events narrated in your submission should have taken place within the last 2 years. This ensures that the stories reflect recent developments and current perspectives in healthcare.
4. Language: All narratives should be in English or French. For videos with participants speaking a different language, transcription in English subtitles should be provided.
5. Clarity and Coherence: Submissions should be well-written or well-presented, with clear and organized content. Abstracts should have a logical flow, while videos should have good audio and visual quality. Ideally, the narrative should have a clear beginning or past, and what is happening at present.
6. Ethical Considerations: Narratives should adhere to ethical guidelines and respect patient privacy. Avoid including sensitive personal information without explicit consent.
7. Diversity of Perspectives: We encourage narratives with testimonials from a diverse range of voices, including patients, healthcare providers, caregivers, and administrators. This will provide a well-rounded view of the impact on various stakeholders.
Why Participate?
$750
First place
$500
Second place
$250
Third place
Additionally, each submission that meets the QI test of change criteria will receive a $50 cash prize!
The top 10 submissions will also have a unique opportunity to present their story to senior WHO and IHI executives at a storytelling webinar on the 29th of September, 2023.
How to Enter
Write a detailed submission based on your chosen topic.
Visit the Submission Form to enter your information.
Submit your entry by September 22, 2023; 2359 hours
Join the Movement
Let's come together to make Quality Improvement an integral part of healthcare discussions. Your expertise can help shape the future of healthcare practices, benefiting patients and professionals alike.
Download PDF Version of the call for enteries
**Note:** All submitted content remains the intellectual property of the entrants, but by submitting, entrants grant the contest organizers the right to display and share the content on the contest platform and associated promotional materials. Proper attribution will always be given to the authors.
