January 2026 Improvement Evidence Update

Welcome to the January 2026 Improvement Evidence Update — your go-to monthly summary of the latest quality improvement research, evidence, tools, and events—all from the past month and condensed into just 2 pages for easy reference. Links to the pdf and word document are under the screenshot below!

PDF Document

Jan 2026 Evidence Update (v1.0).pdf

Download PDF • 357KB

Word Document

Jan 2026 Evidence Update (v1.0).docx

Download DOCX • 302KB

What’s Inside the Improvement Evidence Update?

• A downloadable PDF and editable Word version of the update for easy sharing and customisation.

• A searchable list of resources—just use the search bar at the top of the page.

  
  

Feel free to customise and share this update, crediting andrea.gibbons@somersetft.nhs.uk and Somerset NHS FT.

All articles were published in December 2025 (unless otherwise stated) and are in alphabetical order by journal / website

• THIS Space 2025 Conference On Demand – all sessions from November 2025 conference

• Leading Improvement in Health and Care Podcast: Redesigning complex pathways: improving frailty care (NHS Confederation)

• Co-designing recommendations to improve adolescent and young adult healthcare in Queensland (BMJ Open Quality)

• Digesting the problem: standardising care for children who present to ED after ingesting foreign bodies (BMJ Open Quality)

• Enhancing leadership transitions in student-run clinics: a quality improvement initiative to standardise onboarding (BMJ Open Quality)

• Evaluation of readmissions following elective colorectal surgery: a quality improvement initiative (BMJ Open Quality)

• Implementation of Digital Consent at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust: A Quality Improvement Project (BMJ Open Quality)

• Improving access to inpatient palliative care for patients with end-stage liver disease: a quality improvement project (BMJ Open Quality)

• Improving adherence to appropriate use criteria for paediatric supracondylar humerus fractures: a three-cycle quality improvement project (BMJ Open Quality)

• Longitudinal quality improvement project to increase colorectal cancer screening for an underserved population in a resident physician-led primary care clinic (BMJ Open Quality)

• Methods used to develop quality of care standards and indicators for mental health across the WHO European region: a rapid systematic review (BMJ Open Quality)

• Multicentre quality improvement initiative to improve patient education and safety in the prescription of Sodium-Glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (BMJ Open Quality)

• Ohio haemorrhage quality improvement project: initial implementation of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Hemorrhage Patient Safety Bundle (BMJ Open Quality)

• Quality improvement methodology used in enhanced recovery after caesarean delivery implementation studies: a narrative review and author survey (BMJ Open Quality)

• Re-establishing control limits in statistical process control analyses: the stable shift algorithm (BMJ Quality & Safety, Nov 2025)

• Global Perspectives on Patient Safety: The Central Role of Nursing Management (Healthcare)

• Integrating Quality Improvement: A Qualitative Study of Leadership Approaches in Healthcare Services in Norwegian Municipalities (Health Services Insights)

• Reducing demand for mental health inpatient beds in Somerset (NHS Confederation)

• Reducing out of area placements via service redesign and referral management (NHS Confederation)

• Applying Quality Improvement Science to Patient Safety: Strategies, Frameworks, and Sustainable Solutions (Risk Management & Healthcare Policy)

• Education and Training as Improvement Interventions (THIS Institute Elements of Improving Quality and Safety in Healthcare) 

• The Month – December 2025: End of year message to NHS leadership from Jim Mackey, Chief Executive, NHS England

• NHS England » Video of the NHS England board meeting – 4 December 2025 (NHS England)

• Planetary health and environmentally sustainable healthcare: perceptions of primary care practitioners in Ireland - a qualitative study (BMJ Open Quality)

• Cost-effectiveness of eliminating hospital understaffing by nursing staff: a retrospective longitudinal study and economic evaluation (BMJ Quality & Safety)

• Referrals: improving experiences and closing “black holes” (Healthwatch)

• Bringing care closer to home: reducing inappropriate out of area placements in mental health services (NHS Confederation)

• Podcast: Bridging the gap: practical action on health inequalities (NHS Confederation)

• Abolished to perfection? Building a better centre for the NHS (Nuffield Trust)

• How are GPs using AI? Insights from the front line (Nuffield Trust)

• How to support partnership working: learning from the Healthy Communities Together programme (The Kings Fund)

• Patient-reported harm from NHS treatment or care, or the lack of access to care: a cross-sectional survey of general population prevalence, impact and responses (BMJ Quality & Safety)

• Scoping review of patient and family engagement interventions in diagnosis: a paradox of too much, yet so little (BMJ Quality & Safety)

• A Caregiver's Perspective: Identifying “Zebras”—Listening to Patients is a Clinical Necessity (Journal of Patient Experience)

• A Retrospective Analysis of Patient Feedback in a Major Regional General Hospital: Trends and Insights into Healthcare Experience (Journal of Patient Experience)

• A Parent's Perspective on Systemic Gaps in Supporting Complex Pediatric Care at Home (Journal of Patient Experience)

• From Patient Experience to Dental Service Return Visits: A Narrative Review of Strategies for Improving Dental Care Services (Journal of Patient Experience)

• Improving Healthcare Efficiency and Patient Outcomes Through Proactive Insight to Action: A Sickle Cell Disease Case Example (Journal of Patient Experience)

• Student Perspectives on Professionalism: Time to Reform Curriculum for Better Patient Experience (Journal of Patient Experience)

  
  

• 22 Jan 2026: NHS IMPACT: Quality Improvement and sustainability - Online, 13:30-14:20

• 27 Jan 2026: Shine a light on co-production January event - NHS England, Online, 10:30-12:00

• 28 Jan 2026: Skills for collaborative change - Q Community, Online, 12:00-13:00

• 24 Feb 2026: Shine a light on co-production February event - NHS England, Online, 10:30-12:00

• 25 Feb 2026: NHS IMPACT: Coproduction of Improvement - Online, 11:00-11:50

• 18 March 2026: Leading Successful Partnerships - Q Community, Online, 12:00-13:00

• 23 March 2026: NHS IMPACT: Quality management systems - Online, 12:30-13:50

• 31 March 2026: Shine a light on co-production March event - NHS England, Online, 10:30-12:00

• 30 April 2026: NHS IMPACT: Learning from Scotland’s improvement journey - Online, 10:00-10:50

• 10-11 June 2026: NHS Confed Expo 2026 - Manchester

·       18 June 2026: NHS IMPACT: Leadership for improvement - Online, 10:00-10:50

For full national quality improvement events listings go to: https://www.theqihub.com/post/events