Measuring the quality of hospital tuberculosis services: A prospective study in four Zimbabwe hospitals

Abstract

Objective. To show how the use of a prospective approach to measuring the quality of services for a specific diagnosis can generate useful information for improving the quality of services in environments with limited information technology and data. Design. Tracer approach focusing on intensive treatment of tuberculosis in hospital. The study was conducted in Zimbabwe in 1999. Local tuberculosis management guidelines were first translated into explicit quality assessment criteria and a panel of public health experts assisted in weighting different factors (structural and process) of the criteria. Factor weightings were based on both local knowledge and experience, and potential contribution..