The Epistemology of Quality Improvement: It's All Greek
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https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs.2010.046557Metadata
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Perla, Rocco J., and Gareth J. Parry. 2011. The epistemology of quality improvement: It's all Greek. BMJ Quality & Safety 20(Suppl 1): i24-i27.Abstract
In Plato's Theaetetus, knowledge is defined as the intersection of truth and belief, where knowledge cannot be claimed if something is true but not believed or believed but not true. Using an example from neonatal intensive care, this paper adapts Plato's definition of the concept ‘knowledge’ and applies it to the field of quality improvement in order to explore and understand where current tensions may lie for both practitioners and decision makers. To increase the uptake of effective interventions, not only does there need to be scientific evidence, there also needs to be an understanding of how people's beliefs are changed in order to increase adoption more rapidly. Understanding how best to maximise the overlap between actual and best practice is where quality improvement needs to employ educational and social sciences' methodologies and techniques.Other Sources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3066836/pdf/Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAACitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8296045
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