📄 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

Development of a universal single-item therapeutic empathy scale and validation of the patient-reported version

This study developed and validated a brief, universal single-item therapeutic empathy scale for patients, demonstrating its strong psychometric properties, including high convergent validity with established measures and sensitivity to known group differences, thereby offering a practical tool for clinical, educational, and research applications.

Bennett-Weston, A., Maltby, J., Khunti, K., Leung, C., Narwal, D., Otoo, P., Iyadi-Wilson, B., Howick, J.2026-03-30
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Outcome evaluation of the M-Mama emergency transport system (EmTS) and factors associated with its utilisation among lactating mothers in Kigoma District Council, Tanzania: A cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study in Kigoma District, Tanzania, reveals that while the utilization of the M-Mama emergency transport system among lactating mothers remains low at 36%, its use is significantly driven by program awareness, parity, and education level.

Masaba, J., Anasel, M. G., Mushi, L.2026-03-28
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Towards clinical implementation of artificial intelligence in cancer care: Concept mapping analysis of provincial workshop findings

This study utilizes concept mapping analysis of a 2024 British Columbia Cancer Summit workshop to identify stakeholder priorities for AI in cancer care, revealing a strong consensus on the high importance and feasibility of clinical benefits and efficiency gains over implementation challenges, thereby providing a structured framework to guide responsible and effective AI integration.

Nayyar, C., Xu, H. H., Bates, A. T., Conati, C., Hilbers, D., Avery, J., Raman, S., Fayaz-Bakhsh, A., Nunez, J.-J.2026-03-27
📄 health systems and quality improvement

The effect of peer support networks in alleviating anxiety and enhancing perceived social support

This study demonstrates that a two-week intervention using the algorithmically mediated digital peer support platform Peer2S significantly reduced anxiety among Japanese university students, while revealing that personality traits like high agreeableness can paradoxically increase anxiety due to cultural tendencies toward conflict avoidance.

She, W.-J., Yip, B., Covaci, A., Yu, S., Ang, C. S., Nakajima, S., Siriaraya, P.2026-03-26
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Understanding Antimicrobial Stewardship in Skilled Nursing Facilities Through a Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective: A Qualitative Study in Southern Arizona

This qualitative study of skilled nursing facilities in Southern Arizona reveals that effective antimicrobial stewardship implementation is best understood as a complex adaptive system shaped by organizational workflows, care transitions, and staff interactions, rather than solely by individual prescribing decisions.

Nakayima Miiro, F., Miiro, F. N., LeGros, T. A., Kelley, C. P., Romine, J. K., Ellingson, K. D.2026-03-25
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Leaving against medical advice as a signal of unmet care needs in adult sickle cell disease hospitalizations

A retrospective analysis of New York City hospitalizations reveals that the high rate of sickle cell disease patients leaving against medical advice, which is strongly associated with subsequent readmissions, serves as a critical indicator of unmet care needs and systemic barriers rather than solely patient responsibility.

Zhilkova, A., Rivlin, K., Jackson, J., Glassberg, J., McCrary, B., Eyssallenne, A.2026-03-24
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Validation of Registry-Based Indicators for Postdiagnostic Antibiotic Decisions in Pediatric Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

This study validates rule-based registry indicators for monitoring postdiagnostic antibiotic decisions in pediatric febrile urinary tract infections, demonstrating that while these measures capture overall prescribing patterns, they underestimate guideline concordance and require calibration against clinician-reviewed data to improve accuracy for antimicrobial stewardship.

Garpvall, K., Aljundi, A., Dahl, A., Sterky, E., Luthander, J., Sutterlin, S.2026-03-23
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Why Primary Care Clinicians use Advice and Guidance: A qualitative study

This qualitative study of English primary care clinicians reveals that while Advice and Guidance (A&G) is utilized to support decision-making and manage complex cases, its effectiveness is heavily contingent on timely, clinically relevant responses and the resolution of barriers such as delayed feedback and concerns over equitable workload distribution.

Faux-Nightingale, A., Harrison, R., Burton, C., Bajpai, R., Clarson, L. E., Hadley-Barrows, T., Haines, J., Helliwell, T (…)2026-03-20
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Performance optimization of an R Shiny-based digital health dashboard for monitoring small and sick newborn care in low-resource hospital settings

This study demonstrates that applying targeted R Shiny optimization strategies to the NEST-IT digital health dashboard significantly reduced latency and improved system reliability, thereby enabling timely access to critical neonatal care data in resource-constrained hospitals across sub-Saharan Africa.

Thomas, J., Jenkins, G., Chen, J., Ogero, M., Malla, L., Hirschhorn, L. R., Richards-Kortum, R., Oden, Z. M., Bohne, C. (…)2026-03-19
📄 health systems and quality improvement

Building budgeting capacity of Health Facility Managers to enhance facility financial autonomy: lessons from Nakuru county, Kenya.

This qualitative case study of Nakuru County, Kenya, demonstrates that enhancing health facility financial autonomy through budgeting capacity building requires a sustained, multi-year, and adaptive approach that tailors support to facility levels, combines training with standardized tools, and embeds strong monitoring and leadership mechanisms.

Ochieng, H., Macharia, F., Mugambi, J., Nguhiu, P., Ndungu, S., Nekesa, C., Ogola, T., Amunga, D., Simiyu, G., Kamanda (…)2026-03-19