Worsening quality indicators of health care shake public trust. Although safety and quality of care in hospitals can be improved, healthcare quality remains conceptually and operationally vague. Therefore, the aim of this analysis is to clarify the concept of healthcare quality. Walker and Avant’s method of concept analysis, the most commonly used in nursing literature, provided the framework. We searched general and medical dictionaries, public domain websites, and 5 academic literature databases. Search terms included health care and quality, as well as healthcare and quality. Peer-reviewed articles and government publications published in English from 2004 to 2016 were included. Exclusion criteria were related concepts, discussions about the need for quality care, gray literature, and conference proceedings. Similar attributes were grouped into themes during analysis. Forty-two relevant articles were analyzed after excluding duplicates and those that did not meet eligibility. Following thematic analysis, 4 defining attributes were identified: (1) effective, (2) safe, (3) culture of excellence, and (4) desired outcomes. Based on these attributes, the definition of healthcare quality is the assessment and provision of effective and safe care, reflected in a culture of excellence, resulting in the attainment of optimal or desired health. This analysis proposes a conceptualization of healthcare quality that defines its implied foundational components and has potential to improve the provision of quality care. Theoretical and practice implications presented promote a fuller, more consistent understanding of the components that are necessary to improve the provision of healthcare and steady public trust.

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Obesity remains a serious public health issue in adolescents, who may be subjected to weight stigma leading to increased stress and poor health outcomes. Stigma can be detrimental to adolescents during self-identity formation. The purpose of this study was to examine weight stigma in adolescents in light of the Identity Threat Model of Stigma. A cross-sectional correlational design was used to examine the relationships among the variables of weight stigma, psychosocial stress, coping styles, disordered eating, and physical inactivity. Regression modeling and path analysis were used to analyze the data. Over 90% of the sample had scores indicating weight stigma or antifat bias. Avoidant coping style and psychosocial stress predicted disordered eating. The strongest path in the model was from avoidant coping to disordered eating. The Identity Threat Model of Stigma partially explained adolescents’ weight stigma. Nursing practice implications are discussed.

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