Descriptive characteristics of QI studies in neonatology
| Study characteristics | Frequency (N=100) |
| Country/region of study conduct (Where is the sample gathered?) | |
| USA | 56 |
| Canada | 6 |
| India | 8 |
| Tanzania | 3 |
| Nepal | 3 |
| Other* | 23 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| Target population—unit of intervention | |
| Patients | 70 |
| Caregivers | 6 |
| Healthcare providers | 11 |
| Community | 6 |
| Mother–infant dyad | 5 |
| Other domains | 2 |
| Year† | |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2019 | 30 |
| 2018 | 26 |
| 2017 | 19 |
| 2016 | 15 |
| Healthcare setting of QI study | |
| Study stated the setting included an academic/teaching hospital | 44 |
| Ethics approval | |
| Ethics approval received | 38 |
| Institutional research board approval waived | 48 |
| No ethics approval stated | 14 |
| Multicentre | 24 |
| Problem identification method | |
| Root cause analysis (Fishbone, pareto, process mapping) | 23 |
| Stakeholders Involved in QI study5 8 11 | |
| Administrators & organisation managers | 32 |
| Parents and caregivers | 10 |
| Healthcare providers | 74 |
| No stakeholder engagement/analysis reported | 19 |
| Measures included in the study12 | |
| Patient-important outcome measures | 78 |
| Process measures | 89 |
| Balancing measures | 26 |
| Characteristics of statistical analysis | |
| Statistical significance of findings discussed | 80 |
| Confidence intervals (excluding statistical process control limits) | 28 |
| Statistical process control chart used | 36 |
| Studies adjusted for confounders/covariates | 15 |
*Other countries include England (n=2), Australia (n=2), Ghana (n=2), Israel (n=2), Japan (n=2) and one article each from China, Pakistan, Rwanda, Namibia, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, France, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Singapore, Kenya.
†Year of publication field (yr), as recorded in MEDLINE.
QI, quality improvement.