Do Quality Improvement Plans in Primary Care Improve Perceived Quality of Care? A Mixed-methods Study

This thesis explores whether the introduction of quality improvement plans in Ontario has improved, or has been perceived to improve, the quality of primary care. Quantitative findings suggest that there have been minimal changes in access to primary care from 2013/14 to 2014/15. Characteristics such as the type of primary care organization, availability of resources for quality improvement (QI), number of family physicians and rurality were not found to have statistically significant associations with performance change. Eleven Directors and/or Quality Leads at family health teams or community health centres were interviewed until data saturation was achieved. Qualitative findings were organized into three inter-related themes: impact of quality improvement plans, success factors and challenges to improving the quality of primary care. Although most participants consistently expressed that quality improvement plans increased awareness and focus on quality improvement, substantial improvements in quality of care have yet to be achieved.M.Sc