Implementation and Promotion of Quality Control Circle: A Starter for Quality Improvement in Chinese Hospitals

Abstract

Purpose

To analyse the quality control circle (QCC) implementation status, tool modification and promotion in hospitals in mainland China.

Methods

Data were collected from the 2013–2018 National Quality Control Circle Competition of Chinese Hospitals. A total of 1913 participating QCCs implemented by 34,023 hospital staff from 915 hospitals across 31 provinces and municipalities were included in this study to analyse the characteristics of QCC implementation status in mainland China, using descriptive analyses.

Results

The majority of participating QCCs came from central and eastern hospitals. Most of the QCCs were carried out in tertiary hospitals and focused on themes of safety and patient care. The QCC has been modified in terms of its classification, implementation process, participation mechanism, and ways of dissemination. A series of promotion strategies have been made to promote the implementation of QCCs nationwide, including establishing a professional promotion organization, developing standardized training programmes, and organizing QCC academic events.

Conclusion

After years of promotion, QCCs are widely used in hospitals and have been modified to fit the practice of healthcare institutions. The QCC promotion strategies in China can offer valuable insights for other countries that are also making efforts to continuously improve care quality in healthcare institutions.

Keywords:

• quality control circle
• promotion strategy
• quality improvement

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the support of the China Federation for Hospital Quality Management. The funders had no role in the study design, data analysis, or manuscript writing.

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from China Federation for Hospital Quality Management. Data are available to the corresponding author with the permission of China Federation for Hospital Quality Management.

Ethical Approval

The data that support the findings of this study are originally collected by China Federation for Hospital Quality Management. This study conducted the data analysis with the permission of China Federation for Hospital Quality Management and maintained the confidentiality of the data. As this study does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors, it does not require formal ethical approval.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Fund of Shenzhen Public Hospital Management Center [grant number 20199660001]; and the Young Teacher Research Fund of Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University [grant number 20195720011]. This work was also a project of the Shenzhen Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences.