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Quality Improvement
With more than 30 years of experience applying quality improvement methods to health care, URC has demonstrated that significant improvements are attainable in even the most resource-constrained settings.
URC’s Quality & Performance Institute takes a leadership role in the approach to health care improvement, applying these main principles of quality improvement:
- Focusing on the client
- Involving teams of health workers in testing changes to improve care
- Changes processes and systems of health care delivery to yield improvement
What is Quality Improvement?
The fundamental concept underlying improvement is that a system left unchanged can only be expected to continue producing the same results. To achieve better performance, one must change the system in ways that enable it to produce the improved result.
In health care, improvement science emphasizes changes in service delivery processes and systems in ways that enable high-impact, evidence-based interventions to achieve better results. Using the Model for Improvement, we introduce process changes to yield effective and efficient delivery of health care.
Our assistance includes improvements at all levels, including communities, hospitals and health centers, districts and provinces, and national quality program and policy. We design context-specific health communication and behavior change strategies to bolster our quality improvement work.
URC also provides assistance for redesigning regulatory strategies, such as health profession certification and licensure, health care accreditation, chronic conditions, and collaborative improvement. approaches.
Download
URC Overview for Quality Improvement (PDF, 4 pages)

Members of a facility-level QI team prepare their presentation at a learning session of teams trying to improve safe male circumcision services in Uganda
News
- Triplets Born to HIV-Positive Mother Test Negative
- Improving HIV Viral Load Coverage in East Central Uganda
- Teen Club Makes a Difference for HIV-Positive Youth, Eswatini
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- Village Malaria Workers Bring Myanmar Closer to Malaria Elimination
- Meet the Experts: Dr. Rogers Twesigye, Technical Advisor, Malaria, RHITES-EC
- Born Too Soon: Reducing Perinatal Mortality in Northern Uganda
- Hospital Lab Accreditation Improves Patient Care and Safety in Uganda
- TB CARE II Forum Highlights Need for Digital Health Technologies in a World with COVID-19
- URC Project Led to Self-Sustaining Health Care Accreditation Council in Jordan
- Preventing Anemia During Pregnancy in Uganda
- A Quick Pivot: Delivering HIV Services to Key and Priority Populations During COVID-19
- Breastfed is Best Fed: Overcoming Challenges to Breastfeeding in Uganda
- Indoor Residual Spraying Helps Reduce Malaria Burden in East Central Uganda
- Using Community Case Management to Control MDR-TB in East Central Uganda
- DREAMS Boot Camps in Uganda Reduce Service Gaps and Improve Efficiency for USAID Partners
- Improving Health Care in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Collection of Case Studies
- A Precious Beginning – Improving Care for Preterm Infants
- Better Sanitation and Hygiene – Better Health, Uganda
- HIV-Positive Adolescents Promote Treatment Adherence
- Bringing Antiretroviral Therapy Treatment Closer to Home
- Jamaica: From Zika Outbreak to Sustained Response
- Family Life School: Promoting Breastfeeding for Better Health
- Strengthening NGOs to Combat HIV/AIDS in Central America
- Quality Improvement Team Approach Helps Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality in Uganda
- Zika and Beyond: Building Resiliency for Future Outbreaks
- HIV-Positive Peer Referrals Save Lives
- URC Celebrates International Women’s Day 2019!
- Health Systems Strengthening Legacy in Cambodia
- Uganda’s TB Hunters
- Achieving Better Health by Improving Quality of Health Care Services in Uganda
- No Longer a Secret – Disclosing HIV
- Promoting Human Rights, Labor Rights, and HIV Prevention
- ASSIST Project Neonatologist Shares Her Story from the Frontline Fighting Zika
- Neonatóloga del Proyecto ASSIST comparte su historia desde el frente de lucha contra el Zika
- Blog: The Untapped Lifesaving Potential of Maternal Death Reviews
- The Root Causes of Ugandans Avoiding HIV Testing and Treatment
- URC Experts to Present at Global AIDS Conference
- Creating a Digital System to Track and Improve Health and Nutrition in Indonesia
- Quality of Care Network Working to Reduce Maternal and Newborn Deaths in 10 Countries
- Reducing the Likelihood of the Next Ebola Outbreak
- World Malaria Day 2018 – Regaining the Momentum Against Malaria
- Engaging Adolescent Girls to Change Social Norms in Niger
- REACH Project Contributes to Global Education Conversation
- The Continuum of Care for Zika-affected Children and Families
- Sparking a National Movement to Improve the Quality of Care in Health Care Facilities
- URC to Strengthen MNCH and FP/RH Services in Zika-affected Countries in Latin America and Caribbean
- Celebrating Seven Years of Partnership Combatting HIV in Uganda
- What I’ve Learned: Reflections on a Quality Improvement Journey
- USAID Transparency in Health Engagement Project Commits to Fighting Corruption in Albania
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Malawi Baseline Survey Completed
- A Vision for Zero TB Cities
- What we learned while improving care for 180,000 babies annually in India
- Free e-learning course on the science of improvement
- URC awarded Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project by USAID
- Health worker heroes: Mr. Odongo Dickens
- Matovu Zachariah Jamil, VMMC champion and health worker hero
- USAID ASSIST in Côte d'Ivoire: HIV services for mothers and newborns
- ASSIST Project assists in launch of WHO Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
- Improving TB identification and treatment in northern Uganda
- Join us in welcoming Jay S. Wechsler, URC's new president
Projects
- Optimizing Performance by Improving Quality (OPIQ) in HIV and HIV/TB Programs in the Republic of South Africa under PEPFAR
- Reduce Impaired Child Growth & Development - Stunting Program for Timor-Leste Compact Development
- Defeat Malaria Activity
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- Reaching an AIDS-Free Generation (RAFG) in Burundi
- Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Northern Uganda (RHITES-N, Acholi) Activity
- Anemia Implementation Science Initiative
- Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD)
- Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in East Central Uganda Activity (RHITES-EC)
- Support Eswatini to Achieve Sustained Epidemic Control Program
- Technical Support for National and Subnational Capacity Building to Improve Leadership and Management of District Quality Improvement Programs for Maternal and Newborn Care in Bangladesh
- National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey
- PrevenSida
- Scaling Up Access to Quality Assured Viral Load Testing to Increase the Fraction of PLHIV who Sustain Effective Highly Suppressive Treatment
- Technical Assistance to Support the Design and Implementation of Interventions to Strengthen Reproductive, Maternal, and Neonatal Health in Guyana
- USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) Project
- HIV Co-Infection Surveillance Strategies (CDC-LAC)
- MCC WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Consultancy)
- Strengthening Clinical Services for People Living with HIV in Central America (CDC-PLHIV)
- TASC4 ICT
- Online System Development & Maintenance of Sentinel Sites Monitoring for Health and Nutrition Project
- Resilience and Economic Growth in Sahel – Enhanced Resilience (REGIS-ER)
- Skills for Employability and Productivity Project
- Social Health Protection Project
- Strengthening Uganda’s Systems for Treating AIDS Nationally (SUSTAIN)
- Advancing the Evidence-Base of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health: Using a Quality Improvement Approach in the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Improving TB Detection and TB-HIV Services Integration
- Kidney Transplant Quality Improvement Project
- Nutri-Salud: Community Nutrition and Health Project
- Scaling up and Institutionalization of Quality Management in Health Care Facilities
- Strengthening TB Case Detection and Treatment and TB-HIV Coordinated Activities
- Translating Research into Action (TRAction) Project
- Control and Prevention of Malaria Project (CAP-Malaria)
- Improving Access to Key Populations in Paraguay
- Laboratory Development and Set-Up
- Malaria Surveillance and Laboratory Quality Assurance
- Diagnosis and Management of Severe Febrile Illness: Tibu Homa
- HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Laboratory Support
- Integrated e-Diagnostic Approach (IeDA)
- Strengthening Local Capacity to Deliver Sustainable Quality-Assured Universal Coverage of Clinical Services in Lubombo Region, and Provide Central Level Technical Assistance to the Eswatini National AIDS Program (ENAP) in the Kingdom of Eswatini
- TB Program South Africa
- Technical Support for Zimbabwe Health Results-Based Financing Program and National Quality Policy Framework
- USAID Primary Health Care Project in Iraq (PHCPI)
- USAID Services de Santé de Qualité pour Haïti-Nord (SSQH-Nord) (Quality Health Services for Haiti-North)
- Building Human Resource Capacity to Support Prevention, Care, and Treatment: Strategic Information and Other HIV/AIDS Programs
- Operations Research on Increasing Use of Antenatal Corticosteroids (ACS) in Uganda
- Piloting a Model Family Medicine Clinic for Labor Migrants
- Quality Improvement in the Delivery of Health Services in Belize
- Strengthening the Response to TB, HIV and STIs in Central America and Panama Region
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI)
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Afghanistan
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Burundi
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Georgia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Haiti
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Nicaragua
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Ukraine
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Zambia
- Better Health Services (BHS)
- Essential Obstetric and Newborn Care (EONC) Networks Project
- HIV and AIDS Comprehensive Care Initiative (HACCI)
- Implementation Support for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries
- Jordan Healthcare Accreditation Project (JHAP)
- Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP)
- Niger Implementation Science Study
- Promoting Malaria Prevention and Treatment (ProMPT)
- Technical Assistance and Support Contract 3: Global Health (TASC3 Global Health)
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Cote d'Ivoire
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Guatemala
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Indonesia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Kenya
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Malawi
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Mali
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Mozambique
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Niger
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | South Africa
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Swaziland
- Benin Integrated Family Health Project (Projet Intégré de Santé Familiale, PISAF)
- Community-Based Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health Innovation
- Increasing Access to HIV Testing and Counseling
- Integrated Infectious Disease Capacity Building Evaluation (IDCAP)
- Quality Improvement of Family Planning Care
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Bolivia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Ecuador
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | El Salvador
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Ethiopia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Honduras
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Nigeria
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Russia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Senegal
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Tanzania
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Uganda
- Food and Nutrition Interventions (NuLife)
- Food and Technical Assistance (FANTA) II
- Georgia Tuberculosis Prevention Project (TPP)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use Prevalence Survey, Phase II (HAI)
- Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)
- Malaria Control in Cambodia (MCC) Project
- Strengthening Community Safety Nets (SCSN)
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Namibia
- USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI) | Vietnam
- Creating a Reference Standard to Determine Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infection Rates (CLABSI)
- Improvement of Maternal and Neonatal Health in Belize
- TB CARE II
- UNICEF Malawi and New York
- El Salvador Strengthening Health Project Technical Assistance and Support Contract 2 (TASC2)
- Health Communications Initiative for the Prevention of Underage Alcohol Use
- Improving Medical Injection Safety in Namibia Project
- Improving Primary Health Care in Albania I and II (Pro Shëndetit)
- Quality in Health (Calidad en Salud)
- TASC II Tuberculosis/South Africa
- Technical Assistance and Support Contract (TASC2) Tuberculosis
- Technical Assistance and Support Contract 2 (TASC2): Global Health
- Cambodia Health Systems Strengthening (HSS)
- e-Health in Bangladesh: Survey on Strengthening Remote Health Service Facilities
- Integrated Technical Assistance Project
- Jamaica Adolescent Healthy Lifestyles (JA-STYLE)
- PreventAIDS
- Quality Assurance Project (QAP) I, II, and III
- Quality Improvement Initiatives at the Acid Survivors Foundation
- Romania Health Care Reform Program
- Rapid Expansion of Nutritional Recuperation Services for Malnourished Children in Nigerien Facilities
- Benin Integrated Family Health Project (PROSAF)
- Eritrea Technical Assistance and Support Contract 2 (TASC2)
- Federal Information and Communication Services
- Nongovernmental Organization Service Delivery Program in Bangladesh
- Partnerships for Health Reform Project and Partners for Health Reformplus
- The Maram Project: Healthier Palestinian Families
- Maternal and Child Health: Technical Assistance and Support Contract (TASC)
- Project for Regional Management of Health Services
- Regional Management of Health Services Project (Project de Gestion Régionale des Services de Santé, PROGRESS)
- Research, Information Sharing, and Facilitation
- Women and Infant Health Strategy
- Education Programs of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Campaign
- Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Computer-Based Learning Tool
- Kazakhstan TB Project
- Strategic and Policy Assistance to the Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of the Republic of Srpska
- Peru Consultancy in Quality Assurance and Improvement: Health and Basic Nutrition Project
Regions and Countries
Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Asia, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe and Eurasia, Gaza, Georgia, Ghana, Global, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Latin America and the Caribbean, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Middle East, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Quality Improvement | URC