📄 Category

health systems and quality improvement

104 papers

Improving health systems means finding smarter ways to deliver care, reduce errors, and ensure patients receive the best possible treatment. This field explores how hospitals and clinics can function more effectively, focusing on the practical changes that lead to better outcomes for everyone involved. It is less about discovering new drugs and more about refining the everyday processes that keep our healthcare networks running smoothly.

At Gist.Science, we track every new preprint in this category from medRxiv to bring you the latest research immediately. Our team processes these papers to provide both detailed technical summaries for experts and clear, plain-language explanations for anyone interested in how healthcare can improve. We believe that understanding these systemic changes is vital for building a more resilient future.

Below are the latest studies and insights from the health systems and quality improvement community, sorted by their recent submission dates.

📄 health systems and quality improvement

Are Longer Waits Associated with Lower Satisfaction and Worse Recovery? A Retrospective Observational Study of Hip and Knee Replacement in England

This retrospective observational study of over 230,000 hip and knee replacement patients in England found that longer waiting times are significantly associated with higher post-operative dissatisfaction and smaller functional improvements, suggesting that satisfaction scores in surgical pathways reflect actual recovery outcomes rather than just the care experience.

Joseph, R., Danielli, S.2026-10-30
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Defining Manuscript Peer Review: An International Delphi Consensus Study

This international three-round Delphi study established a consensus-based definition of manuscript peer review as a structured, human-led process aimed at improving research quality and trustworthiness, supported by eight core pillars: Principled, Constructive, Timely, Transparent, Professional, Quality, Confidential, and Pluralistic.

Massod, M., Tai, K. H., Rizzato, J. S., Tufte, J., Mittelman, M., Raesfeld, C. V., Aczel, B., McGowan, J., Amaral, O. B. (…)2026-10-07
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Empowering Singaporeans to better manage chronic heart failure: Protocol for a mixed-methods study

This protocol outlines a mixed-methods study in Singapore that employs a systematic review, qualitative interviews, a discrete choice experiment, and a cost-effectiveness analysis to develop and evaluate a contextually suitable, patient-preferred, and cost-effective empowerment-based intervention for managing chronic heart failure.

Bairavee, B., Wang, Y., Kanna Ravi, D., Lee Shan Yin, A., Ching Chiew Wong, R., Loh, S. Y., Graves, N., Sung, S., Yoon (…)2026-10-01
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Effect of health-system continuous quality improvement on long-term retention in HIV care among pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A cluster-randomized trial

This cluster-randomized trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that a data-driven continuous quality improvement intervention modestly improved long-term retention in HIV care for pregnant and breastfeeding women, particularly at six months, though limited viral load and infant testing data prevented definitive conclusions regarding virological suppression and vertical transmission.

Yotebieng, M., Ravelomanana, N. L., Kawende, B., Tabala, M., Malongo, F., Lumande, F., Zotova, N., Babakazo, P.2026-09-25
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Structured Hypertension Education and Telephone Follow-up After Emergency Department Discharge: A Prospective Quality Improvement Initiative in Pakistan

This prospective quality improvement initiative in Pakistan demonstrated that a low-cost intervention combining structured discharge education with telephone follow-up significantly reduced blood pressure and improved self-reported care behaviors among emergency department patients with uncontrolled hypertension, despite limitations including a 24% loss to follow-up and the absence of a control group.

Aqeel, M., Hashmi, M., Shoaib, U., Rashid, Z., Hafeez, A. S.2026-09-19
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Contact without protection: high antenatal attendance, minimal hepatitis B testing in Nigerias mother-to-child prevention cascade -- how far from elimination?

Despite high antenatal care attendance in Nigeria, the mother-to-child hepatitis B elimination cascade is severely compromised by extremely low testing rates (12.3%) and suboptimal infant birth-dose coverage (55%), with the greatest gaps occurring in the poorest and highest-burden regions.

Abanni, S. I., Ekure, B. M., Omotosho, J.2026-09-18
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Antihypertensive Pharmacotherapy Gaps in Nigeria: A Predictive Machine Learning Analysis of Treatment Uptake Amid Macroeconomic Shock, Using NDHS 2023-24

This study utilizes machine learning on the 2023-24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey to reveal significant sex-specific disparities in antihypertensive treatment non-uptake driven by macroeconomic shocks and geopolitical zones, concluding that uniform national interventions are ineffective and advocating for tailored, sex- and region-specific strategies.

Nosa-Ihaza, E. A., Edeh, E. C., Eze, D. N., Nosa-Ihaza, U. N.2026-09-17