Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Quality Improvement Article
  • Published:

A practical guide to publishing a quality improvement paper

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 1454–1458 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Quality improvement (QI) is a relatively new and evolving field as it applies to healthcare. Hence, publishing a QI paper may present certain challenges as QI differs from standard types of scientific research. Some considerations in writing are inherent to all types of manuscripts submitted for publication, whereas others are unique to QI papers. This paper, the final in a series of eight papers related to QI in the neonatal setting, describes the best practices for writing and publishing QI manuscripts. Common pitfalls to avoid are also highlighted.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Swanson JR, Pearlman SA. Roadmap to a successful quality improvement project. J Perinatol. 2017;37:112–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Katakam L, Suresh GK. Identifying a quality improvement project. J Perinatol. 2017;37:1161–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Picarillo AP. Introduction to quality improvement tools for the clinician. J Perinatol. 2018;38:929–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Coughlin K, Posencheg MA. Quality improvement methods—part II. J Perinatol. 2019;39:1000–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gupta M, Kaplan HC. Measurement for quality improvement: using data to drive change. J Perinatol. 2020;40:962–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Fischer HR, Duncan SD. The business case for quality improvement. J Perinatol. 2020;40:972–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ravi D, Tawfik D, Sexton JB, Profit J. Changing safety culture. J Perinatol. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00839-0.

  8. Franklin B. Poor Richard’s Almanack 1732–1758 Philadelphia New Printing Office near the Market. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0ec9/52af9ec79a1e2ad794f60d448b7c3c7e3b96.pdf. Accessed 10 Sep 2020.

  9. Mackay AL. Dictionary of scientific quotations. Norfolk: Galliard Ltd; 2001.

  10. Stevenson DK. William A Silverman lecture. J Perinatol. 2014;34:1–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Harmon JE, Gross AG. From Galileo’s New Science to the Human Genome. 2002. http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/21701730/. Accessed 10 Sep 2020.

  12. Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Topics. www.ihi.org/topics/pages/default.aspx. Accessed 27 Oct 2020.

  13. McQuillan RF, Wong BM. The SQUIRE guidelines: a scholarly approach to quality improvement. J Grad Med Educ. 2016;8:771–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wong BM, Sullivan GM. How to write up your quality improvement initiative for publication. J Grad Med Educ. 2016;8:128–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Mudrak B. Verb tense in scientific manuscripts. Am J Experts. https://www.aje.com/dist/docs/AJE-Choosing-the-Right-Verb-Tense-for-Your-Scientific-Manuscript-2015.pdf. Accessed 27 Oct 2020.

  16. On paragraphs. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/index.html. Accessed 28 Oct 2020.

  17. Ogrinc G, Davies L, Goodman D, Batalden P, Davidoff F, Stevens D. SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence): revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process. J Surg. Res. 2016;200:676–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Smith S, Carlton E. Introducing quality improvement to the Emergency Medicine Journal. Emerg Med J. 2019;36:258–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Oermann MH, Ingles TM. Writing manuscripts about quality improvement: SQUIRE 2.0 and beyond. https://wkauthorservices.editage.com/resources/author-resource-review/2017/May-2017.html. Accessed 27 Oct 2020.

  20. Journal of Perinatology. Guide to authors. https://www.nature.com/jp/authors-and-referees/guide-to-authors. Accessed 27 Oct 2020.

  21. Schondelmeyer AC, Brower LH, Statile AM, White CM, Brady PW. Quality improvement feature series article: writing and reviewing quality improvement manuscripts. J Ped Inf Dis Soc. 2018;7:188–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Grady D, Redberg RF, O’Malley PG. Quality improvement for quality improvement studies. JAMA Int Med. 2018;178:187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Perla RJ, Provost LP, Murray SK. The run chart: a simple analytical tool for learning from variation in healthcare processes. BMJ Qual Saf. 2011;20:46–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Gupta M, Kaplan HC. Using statistical process control to drive improvement in neonatal care: a practical introduction to control charts. In: Gupta M, Kaplan HC, editors. Clinics in perinatology. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2017. Vol. 44. p. 627–45.

  25. Provost LP, Murray SK. The healthcare data guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2008.

  26. Brady PW, Tchou MJ, Ambroggio L, Schondelmeyer AC, Shaughnessy EE. Quality improvement feature series article 2: displaying and analyzing quality improvement data. J Ped Inf Dis Soc. 2018;7:100–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kanter M, Courneya PT. Perspective on publishing quality improvement efforts. Perm J. 2017;21:17–140.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Hempel S, Shekelle PG, Liu JL, Sherwood Danz M, Foy R, Lim YW, et al. Development of the quality improvement minimum quality criteria set (QI_MQCS): a tool for critical appraisal of quality improvement intervention publications. BMJ Qual Saf. 2015;24:796–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Holzmueller CG, Pronovost PJ. Organising a manuscript reporting quality improvement or patient safety research. BMJ Qual Saf. 2013;22:777–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Bain BJ, Littlewood TJ, Szydlo RM. The finer points of writing and refereeing scientific articles. Br J Haematol. 2016;172:350–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Sutherland LR. How to get your paper published: confessions of an editor. Can J Gastroenterol. 2003;17:279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Thayer WS Osler. The teacher Sir William Osler. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press; 1920. p. 51–52.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christiana Care, Newark, DE, 19718, USA

    Stephen A. Pearlman

  2. Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA

    Stephen A. Pearlman

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia Childrenʼs Hospital, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA

    Jonathan R. Swanson

Authors
  1. Stephen A. Pearlman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jonathan R. Swanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

SAP and JRS conceived the concept, researched the topic and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen A. Pearlman.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pearlman, S.A., Swanson, J.R. A practical guide to publishing a quality improvement paper. J Perinatol 41, 1454–1458 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00902-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00902-w

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links