Launch of new ISQua Journal – IJQHC Communications

ISQua is delighted to announce the launch of our new Journal – IJQHC Communications, in partnership with our publisher, Oxford University Press (OUP). IJQHC Communications (IJCOMS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international journal that will publish research related to quality and safety in health care, with a focus on implementation science, for a worldwide readership.

ISQua is delighted to announce the launch of our new Journal – IJQHC Communications, in partnership with our publisher, Oxford University Press (OUP). IJQHC Communications (IJCOMS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international journal that will publish research related to quality and safety in health care, with a focus on implementation science, for a worldwide readership.

In 2020, Emma Sacks, of Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (USA), was appointed as our Editor-in-Chief for IJQHC Communications. Emma is Associate Faculty in the Department of International Health and serves as a consultant for UNICEF and the World Health Organization on perinatal and paediatric quality of care.

Dr Sacks will be supported in her role by her Deputy Editors, Dr Richard Greenhill, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (USA) and Dr Patrick Palmieri, EBHC South America: A Joanna Briggs Institute Affiliated Group (Peru), and an internationally diverse Editorial Committee.

“Our new journal, IJQHC Communications, will be a place for communicating advances in the science of health care quality,” said Emma Sacks, Editor-in-Chief of IJCOMS. “We are excited to publish high-quality original, applied, and implementation research from leaders and scholars from around the world. We have an experienced and enthusiastic editorial team eager to help share new knowledge and lessons learned in the provision and measurement of quality of care in order to improve health and wellbeing for all.”

“IJQHC Communications is an exciting innovation from ISQua and OUP,” confirmed Peter Lachman, ISQua CEO. “We aim to attract papers of the highest standard on quality improvement, implementation and will endeavour to ensure papers from LMIC reach publication. This is part of the ISQua mission of spreading Knowledge, building Networks, and giving people a Voice. The team assembled by Emma Sacks is dynamic and forward looking and the journal promises to offer researchers and practitioners new opportunities to publish their work.”

IJQHC Communications will publish papers in all disciplines related to the quality and safety of health care, including health services research, health care evaluation, technology assessment, health economics, utilization review, cost containment and nursing care research, as well as protocols and clinical research related to the quality of care. IJQHC Communications will publish original, de novo submissions, as well as submissions cascaded from the International Journal for Quality in Health Care.

The Journal will be truly interdisciplinary and include contributions from representatives of all health professions such as doctors, nurses, quality assurance professionals, managers, politicians, social workers, and therapists, as well as researchers from health-related backgrounds.

The effect of COVID19 on the world has shed light of the importance of quality and highlighted the need to build stronger health systems that can respond to and withstand pandemics. Our first publication will include editorials and commentaries from world-renowned healthcare experts on the state of quality in the COVID era including ongoing initiatives and priorities for improving quality in the future, both in research and implementation and will be published in late June 2021.

Visit the journal website – https://academic.oup.com/ijcoms/ – to learn more.

IJCOMS is now open for submissions and details on how to proceed can be found on our webpage – https://academic.oup.com/ijcoms/pages/general-instructions

Sign up for E-Alerts to make sure you never miss out on the latest research from IJQHC Communications – https://academic.oup.com/ijcoms/pages/alerts

 

Contact Information:

OUP – Steve Cavanaugh, Editorial Administrator, [email protected]

Emma Sacks – Editor-in-Chief, IJCOMS – [email protected]

Sinead McArdle – Business Development Officer, ISQua – [email protected]

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Nourhan Kawtharani

Nourhan, a quality and safety coordinator with eight years of experience in ambulatory healthcare in Lebanon, aims to deepen her understanding of the systemic and holistic approach to healthcare through this fellowship.

She aims to identify gaps and develop tailored interventions that address specific contexts rather than applying general solutions. Engaging with diverse professionals and perspectives during this educational journey will expand the application of these concepts across different cultural settings.

Nourhan emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement within healthcare institutions, considering it a vital leadership responsibility to integrate quality and safety initiatives into the organizational culture.

Nourhan's commitment to patient safety and quality management includes sourcing practical resources and transforming insights into actionable knowledge to drive continued progress in healthcare practices and outcomes.

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Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

He has also worked extensively across all levels of care in the health sector of Ghana, including leading the Quality & Patient Safety program in its largest teaching hospital.

I would like to use this Fellowship as a learning platform and an opportunity to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies to complement ongoing efforts by like-minded individuals and organizations to continuously advance improve the quality and patient safety in Ghana and the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun

Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Stephen says "Quality and safety is a major wheel through which universal healthcare coverage can be achieved. The goal is to be a bridge in the gap between the International Quality Improvement and Patient Safety community and my country to ensure rapid spread, adoption, implementation and practice."

We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu

Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

It is one thing to institute measures and processes for improvement, but quite another to change the culture of an environment. Rhoda's ambition to lead others in this change inspired the panel.

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

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