WHO Quality of Care
Evaluating the quality of healthcare is essential to advancing equitable health outcomes for children and young people around the world.
Quality of Care for Children and Young Adolescents
Dr Alicia Quach of Melbourne Children’s Global Health conducted a systematic review using the WHO’s Standards for Improving Quality of Care for Children and Young Adolescents in Health Facilities as a benchmark to assess existing tools for measuring quality of care in health facilities.
Her review, which focused on tools assessing care for children under 15, revealed that many current quality assessment tools lack several critical components defined in the WHO’s Standards. These gaps highlight the need for improved frameworks to evaluate and enhance care delivery.
Dr Quach’s research underscores the importance of developing a globally accepted set of key indicators to monitor adherence to WHO Standards. However, she also cautions that these indicators must strike a careful balance between comprehensiveness and practical applicability, ensuring they can be used effectively in real-world healthcare settings.
Header image: © WHO / Tom Vierus