When reporting infection control indicators to a governing body, a healthcare quality professional should demonstrate improvement with which of the following tools?

A run chart is the most effective tool for demonstrating improvement over time. It graphically displays data points in chronological order, allowing the governing body to easily visualize trends, shifts, or patterns in infection control indicators. This visual representation clearly communicates whether performance is stable, improving, or declining, which is the primary goal of reporting progress. Other charts are less suitable for showing performance changes across a time sequence.

B. A frequency plot (or histogram) shows the distribution of data at a single point in time, not a trend over time.
C. A pie chart illustrates the proportions of a whole and is not designed to track performance changes over a period.
D. A scatter plot is used to show the relationship between two different variables, not to track a single indicator's improvement over time.

1. Ransom

S. B.

Maulik

S.

& Nash

D. B. (Eds.). (2022). HQ Solutions: Resource for the Healthcare Quality Professional (5th ed.). National Association for Healthcare Quality. Chapter 13

"Performance Improvement Tools

" section on Run Charts.

2. Perla

R. J.

Provost

L. P.

& Murray

S. K. (2011). The run chart: a simple analytical tool for learning from variation in healthcare processes. BMJ Quality & Safety

20(1)

46–51. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs.2009.037895