National accreditation programmes for hospitals in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Case studies from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon

Abstract

Background: Many countries use external evaluation programmes such as accreditation in order to improve quality and safety in their healthcare settings. Hospital accreditation has developed in many low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs); however, the implementation and sustainability of these programmes vary in each country.This study addresses design and implementation issues of national hospital accreditation programmes. It identifies factors which may explain why programmes can be implemented successfully in one country but not in another and derives lessons for the design and implementation of national accreditation programmes in poor-resource settings.Methods: A multiple case study design was used, comprising three countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 key stakeholders in the three countries and experts from international organisations concerned with accreditation activities in LMICs. Results:The hospital accreditation programme was successful and sustainable in Jordan but experienced some difficulties in Egypt and Lebanon. The premature end of external funding and devastating political instability after the Arab Spring were problematic for the programmes in This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Understanding the factors influencing the implementation of accreditation in Jordanian Hospitals: the nurses’ view

“…Finally, the participants’ answers are vital to accreditation implementation 5. These answers are crucial to the success of accreditation implementation in this study.…”

“…A hospital’s accreditation is defined as the procedures explicitly designed to monitor, assess and improve the quality of care 1–4. The accreditation process is an ongoing and developing quality improvement process that needs continuing attention from all healthcare professionals, especially nurses, as they are in the frontline when it comes to patients’ and quality care 5. Applying accreditation is a vital component in developing contemporary quality management 1 2…”

“…The health industry in Jordan has become much more competitive in recent years 7. Therefore, meeting patients’ expectations and maintaining patients’ satisfaction have become essential 5 8. Total Quality Management in Jordanian hospitals has helped clinical settings to increase organisational capacity 7.…”

“…In all hospitals, including the Jordanian ones, accreditation improves organisational performance hospitals based on three pillars. Organisational performances will improve if they focus on quality inspection, quality control and quality assurance 5. Commonly, hospitals in Jordan perform an inspection of quality by getting regular feedback from the patients about service quality.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] The accreditation process is an ongoing and developing quality improvement process that needs continuing attention from all healthcare professionals, especially nurses, as they are in the frontline when it comes to patients' and quality care. 5 Applying accreditation is a vital component in developing contemporary quality management. 1 2 Accreditation can also assist hospitals in making and tooling procedures that increase patient and staff satisfaction.…”