Open AccessImproving Service Delivery in a County Health Department WIC Clinic: An Application of Statistical Process Control Techniques
Author(s) -
Debra Thingstad Boe,
William T. Riley,
Helen Parsons
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2008.138289
Subject(s) - statistical process control , public health , process (computing) , service delivery framework , service (business) , control (management) , medicine , quality (philosophy) , intervention (counseling) , service quality , operations management , process management , business , nursing , computer science , engineering , marketing , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , operating system
Local public health agencies are challenged to continually improve service delivery, yet they frequently operate with constrained resources. Quality improvement methods and techniques such as statistical process control are commonly used in other industries, and they have recently been proposed as a means of improving service delivery and performance in public health settings. We analyzed a quality improvement project undertaken at a local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic to reduce waiting times and improve client satisfaction with a walk-in nutrition education service. We used statistical process control techniques to evaluate initial process performance, implement an intervention, and assess process improvements. We found that implementation of these techniques significantly reduced waiting time and improved clients' satisfaction with the WIC service.