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Improving the quality of health services in developing countries: lessons for the West

Director of Research, The Karolinska Institute Medical Management Centre, Stockholm, and Professor of Health Policy and Management, The Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenberg, and Bergen University Faculty of Medicine, Norway

Correspondence to:
Dr J Øvretveit, The Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenberg, Box 12133, Sweden S-40242;
jovret@aol.com

Keywords: quality of care; quality methods; developing countries

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Quality methods used in health care have been developed in Western health systems. Here there is a growing awareness of the waste and risks caused by problems rooted in systems of care which are not well organised. Governments and others are making resources available to address these problems, and this is being seen as a necessary investment to save money and unnecessary patient suffering. In contrast, in lower income countries the development and quality of health services is severely limited by lack of resources and knowledge about quality methods.

Despite these differences, however, lower income countries increasingly recognise the value of quality methods and the need to raise the quality of their services. Many are making more use of quality methods, but the traffic is not one way—the West can also learn from their experiences of improving quality and safety. It is worth . . . [Full text of this article]

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