Study Shows Value of Aligning Organizational Culture and Quality Improvement

Different levels of staff—executive, midlevel, and frontline—showed markedly different perceptions regarding the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 100,000 lives campaign and organizational culture, according to a study in the February 2012 issue of *Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. *The campaign’s goal was to save 100,000 lives over 18 months through the use of 6 evidence-based interventions for improved patient safety. Organizational culture is defined as the assumptions, values, behaviors, and norms that can either help or hinder an organization’s ability to achieve its goals and implement successful, sustainable quality improvement efforts. Perspectives were gleaned from participants in surveys and focus groups from six Georgia hospitals in 2008, two years after the conclusion of the IHI campaign. The study indicated that executive-level staff focused on factors that influenced overall organizational strategies and hospital priorities (e.g., economic and regulatory contexts, public reporting).