title: Advancing the science of patient safety.
abstract: Despite a decade's worth of effort, patient safety has improved slowly, in part because of the limited evidence base for the development and widespread dissemination of successful patient safety practices. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored an international group of experts in patient safety and evaluation methods to develop criteria to improve the design, evaluation, and reporting of practice research in patient safety. This article reports the findings and recommendations of this group, which include greater use of theory and logic models, more detailed descriptions of interventions and their implementation, enhanced explanation of desired and unintended outcomes, and better description and measurement of context and of how context influences interventions. Using these criteria and measuring and reporting contexts will improve the science of patient safety.
authors.affiliation: RAND Health, Santa Monica, California, USA. shekelle@rand.org
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Shekelle
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Pronovost
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wachter
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Sydney M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Dy
authors.forename: Robbie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Foy
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hempel
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ovretveit
authors.forename: Lisa V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Rubenstein
authors.forename: Alyce S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Angood
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bickman
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carayon
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Donaldson
authors.forename: Naihua
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Donna O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Farley
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Greenhalgh
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haughom
authors.forename: Eileen T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Lake
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lilford
authors.forename: Kathleen N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Lohr
authors.forename: Gregg S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Marlene R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Duncan V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Neuhauser
authors.forename: Gery
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saint
authors.forename: Kaveh G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Shojania
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shortell
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Kieran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walshe
mesh_terms: D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D005791:Patient Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D012107:Research Design; D017751:Safety Management / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality