title: Describing methods and interventions: a protocol for the systematic analysis of the perioperative quality improvement literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quality improvement (QI) methods are widely used in surgery in an effort to improve care, often using techniques such as Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to implement specific interventions. Explicit definition of both the QI method and quality intervention is necessary to enable the accurate replication of effective interventions in practice, facilitate cumulative learning, reduce research waste and optimise benefits to patients. This systematic review aims to assess quality of reporting of QI methods and quality interventions in perioperative care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies reporting on quality interventions implemented in perioperative care settings will be identified. Searches will be conducted in the Ovid SP version of Medline, Scopus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care database and the related articles function of PubMed. The journal BMJ Quality will be searched separately. Search strategy terms will relate to (i) surgery, (ii) QI and (iii) evaluation methods. Explicit exclusion and inclusion criteria will be applied. Data from studies will be extracted using a data extraction form. The Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist will be used to evaluate quality of reporting, together with additional items aimed at assessing QI methods specifically.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  PROSPERO http://CRD42014012845.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, 22-28 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP, UK. elj20@le.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dixon-Woods
mesh_terms: D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic