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Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (MScQIPS)

This guide is intended to assist students in the MSc in IHPME (Quality Improvement and Patient Safety concentration) with their literature review and other research projects.

Sources for Indicators

CIHI (Canadian Institute for Health Information) Indicator Library
Organized according to the Health System Performance Measurement Framework and provides:
- Indicator definitions
- Methodologies
- Reporting levels (facility, regional, provincial, national)
- Data sources
- Publicly available reported results
AHRQuality Indicators (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
Includes Prevention Quality Indicators, Inpatient Quality Indicators, Patient Safety Indicators, and Pediatric Quality Indicators.
Also includes free software.
Note: Only for use with administrative data in acute care hospitals, and are not available for other types of settings or populations.
CIHI Health Indicators Interactive Tool

Developing and Using Indicators

The Good Indicators Guide: Understanding how to use and Choose Indicators
Tips on locating, developing, understanding and using indicators. Sections include:
- Background information on indicators
- Components of an indicator
- Understanding variation
- Presenting and communicating results and more

Accessing Data & Statistics

CIHI Graduate Student Data Access Program
Qualifying graduate students can request data through the Graduate Student Data Access Program (GSDAP), for free. Graduate students conducting research can access data in the following areas:
- Health Services
- Health Spending
- Health Human Resources
ICES Data and Analytic Services (DAS)
Offers several types of services to public sector researchers (includes researchers and students affiliated with a university, college, hospital or other institutions).
Services include access to research-ready, linked health administrative data and analytic tools.