Quality Improvement Projects in Healthcare Research Study

Quality Improvement Projects in Healthcare Research Study

The selected article to explore the application of healthcare research data to guide the systematic change process and decision-making in quality improvement projects is an article by Gu et al. (2021), “Different Roles of Telehealth and Telemedicine on Medical Tourism: An Empirical Study from Azerbaijan.” This paper assesses the research article to define its research step, methodology and design, findings, conclusions, and recommendations provided by the researchers.

Research Steps

Define the Problem

The study’s authors, with a focus on Azerbaijan, note that the lack of quality information and communication on medical expertise creates uncertainties about medical expertise, quality of treatment quality, and healthcare communication as problems that cause patients to hesitate to travel for medical tourism.

Explain the Purpose of the Research Study

The study analyses telehealth and telemedicine with the aim of examining how they can improve information quality and communication quality and influence patient satisfaction and willingness to participate in medical tourism.

Explain the Study Variables

The research study has four types of variables. These include the independent variables, the dependent variables, the moderator variables, and the control variables. The independent variables or cause variables include the communication quality and information quality of telehealth and telemedicine. The dependent variables or effect variables are those affected by the dependent variables, including patient satisfaction and medical tourism. The moderator variables or the variables that influence the strength or direction of a relationship between the cause and effect are the perceived value and perceived cost of medical tourism. Lastly, the control variables, or the variables that remain constant during a study to test the relationship between the cause-and-effect variables, were health status and individual experience with telehealth and telemedicine.

Explain the Question and/or Hypothesis

Based on a literature review, the authors developed eight hypotheses. The first and second hypotheses, “high communication quality of telehealth has a significantly positive influence on satisfaction” and “high communication quality of telemedicine has a significantly positive influence on satisfaction,” examine the relationship between the quality of communication of telehealth and telemedicine and satisfaction. The third and fourth, “high information quality of telehealth has a significantly positive influence on satisfaction” and “high information quality of telemedicine has a significantly positive influence on satisfaction,” examine the relationship between quality of information of telehealth and telemedicine and satisfaction. The fifth and sixth hypotheses; “user satisfaction has a significantly positive influence on willingness to undertake medical travel” and “according to the psychological expectations of the consumer, the perceived value to medical services has a significantly positive influence on willingness to undertake medical travel” examine the level of satisfaction and its influence on the willingness to engage in medical tourism and the influence of psychological expectation on willingness to undertake medical tourism respectively. The seventh and eighth hypotheses, “international medical tourists’ repeat visits positively influence their willingness to pay more” and “willingness to undertake medical travel has a positive effect on medical travel behavior and choosing a medical tourism alternative,” examine the level of satisfaction and its influence on the willingness to engage in medical tourism and willingness to engage in medical tourism and medical travel behavior.

Research Methodology, Design, and Analyses

The authors have employed a quantitative survey research methodology. It utilized a questionnaire for data collection using a multi-step iteration. The questionnaire was distributed among a population who were considering or had taken part in medical travel or tourism in Azerbaijan. A pilot study of 40 participants took part in the initial study, after which a total of 617 questionnaires were distributed, of which 500 questionnaires were answered and returned. The authors utilized a cross-sectional study design to identify the sample population and effectively collect research data. The collected data was analyzed using various statistical data analysis methods, including partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and SmartPLS 3.0, to analyze the relationships between variables and test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Gu et al. (2021) found that the quality of communication of telehealth and telemedicine significantly and positively influences patient satisfaction with medical tourism, confirming hypotheses one and two. Secondly, the analysis of data confirms the predictions of hypotheses three and four, as the author found that the quality of information on telehealth and telemedicine significantly and positively influences patient satisfaction with medical travel. The findings of the study also confirm hypothesis five, that a positive relationship exists between satisfaction and willingness to engage in medical tourism. Additionally, the perceived value and cost significantly influence the willingness of patients to engage in medical tourism. Furthermore, the findings also indicate that the willingness to engage in medical tourism significantly and positively influences actual medical tourism behaviors.

Conclusion

Gu et al. (2021)  conclude that telehealth and telemedicine significantly improve patient satisfaction with medical tourism. However, this effect is based on the quality of communication and information access. Moreover, the overall decision for patients to engage in medical tourism is influenced by the perceived value and cost. Conclusively, the use of telehealth and telemedicine can promote transparency and effectiveness of communication with an impact on trust and improve medical tourism. Based on the study’s findings, Gu et al. (2021) argue that telehealth and telemedicine enhance medical travel behaviors since these systems immediately improve patients’ understanding of their health situation. Therefore, they recommend the application of telehealth and telemedicine in healthcare settings to improve access to information and healthcare, including medical tourism. The authors also recommend using more accurate sampling methods and adapting the questionnaire to conduct similar research in various countries. The research suggests further research focusing on how individual satisfaction and individual telehealth use influence intent to engage in medical tourism.

Subsequently, the findings show that the quality of communication and information of telehealth and telemedicine services improves knowledge and understanding of other health-related information. Such quality information can help with health and treatment planning before traveling for medication. This can help manage risks associated with medical tourism. Telehealth and telemedicine have the potential to impact quality management by supporting remote patient access to healthcare providers, continuous monitoring, and remote collaboration during interprofessional care.

Furthermore, the study by Gu et al. (2021) highlights the relationship between quality improvement and healthcare research as it first explores the various roles of telehealth and telemedicine in promoting medical tourism and other contributing factors that increase medical tourism. It also identifies various areas of using telehealth and telemedicine that can be improved, such as quality of communication and information access to improve medical tourism. Additionally, the article identifies telehealth and telemedicine as essential to improving the utilization of healthcare services in remote settings, contributing to both research and quality improvement. Overall, Gu et al.’s study also provides recommendations for future research that can further improve the utilization of telehealth and telemedicine, as well as other factors that can improve the quality of healthcare service delivery and medical tourism.

References

Gu, D., Humbatova, G., Xie, Y., Yang, X., Zolotarev, O., & Zhang, G. (2021). Different roles of telehealth and telemedicine on medical tourism: An empirical study from Azerbaijan. Healthcare 2021, Vol. 9, Page 1073, 9(8), 1073. https://doi.org/10.3390/HEALTHCARE9081073

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Scenario
Quality improvement projects directly impact the quality of healthcare delivery. Healthcare research can provide the data necessary for the systematic change process to guide decision-making.

Quality Improvement Projects in Healthcare Research Study

In this assessment, you will apply your skill in quality improvement, which is necessary for you to implement the policies and processes to fulfill the purpose of the organization you work for as a healthcare administrator. You will evaluate the relationship between quality improvement projects and healthcare research. You will choose a peer-reviewed research study and evaluate the application of risk and quality management concepts in the healthcare industry.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word evaluation of the quality improvement projects in the healthcare research study you selected.

Include the following headings and sections in your evaluation:

Research Steps
Define the problem.
Explain the purpose of the research study.
Explain the study variables.
Explain the research question and/or hypothesis.
Research Methodology, Design, and Analyses
Explain the research methodology, design, and analyses.
Findings
Explain the research study’s findings.
Conclusion
Summarize the research study’s recommendations.
Explain the impact of the research on risk management and quality management.
Summarize the relationship between quality improvement and healthcare research in relation to your chosen study.

Cite sources to support your assessment.

Format your citations and references according to APA guidelines.