A comprehensive assessment of quality management methods in the SMESH study

• Main Authors: Bruna Vieira Fernandes (Author), Natália Luiza Kops (Author), Luana Giongo Pedrotti (Author), Tássia Rolim Camargo (Author), Eliana Marcia Wendland (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: BMC, 2024-05-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.1186/s12913-024-11055-3; 1472-6963
• Keywords: Epidemiological methods; Quality Control; Test-retest reliability; Quality Management; HPV; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: BMC Health Services Research, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2024)

Abstract Background This paper aims to instigate discussion and publication of methodologies applied to enhance quality management through comprehensive scientific reports. It provides a detailed description of the design, implementation, and results of the quality control program employed in the SMESH study. Methods Cross-sectional, multicenter, national study designed to assess the prevalence of human papillomavirus in sex workers and in men who have sex with men (MSM). Respondent-driven sampling recruitment was used. An online system was developed for the study and checkpoints were defined for data entry. The system checked the quality of biological samples and performed a retest with part of the sample. Results A total of 1.598 participants (442 sex workers and 1.156 MSM) were included. Fifty-four health professionals were trained for face-to-face data collection. The retest showed Kappa values ranging between 0.3030 and 0.7663. Conclusion The retest data were mostly classified as indicating a strong association. The data generated by the checkpoints showed the successful implementation of the quality control program.