KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TOWARDS STANDARDS OF WORKING IN A PERIPHERAL INSTITUTE THROUGH APPLICATION OF ISQUA (INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR QUALITY IN HEALTHCARE) ACCREDITED NQAS (NATIONAL QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS) GUIDELINES

Objective: To study change in knowledge, attitude and practices of healthcare employees through implementation of quality standards for a period of one year. Inclusion criteria: All healthcare employees including doctors and paramedics who were supposed to be posted at our hospital for next two years. Exclusion criteria: Employees with impending transfer to other institutions. Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out after implementation of quality standard (NQAS) National quality assurance standards. The study was carried out for one year from January 2023 to December 2023.Our sample size was N=70.( 20 doctors and 50 paramedics). Data was taken from all sections using NQAS indicators and questioniires PSS (Patient satisfaction survey), ESS (Employee satisfaction survey). Data was analysed using SPSS-29. Results:The data was analyzed in terms of knowledge, attitude and practices of health staff in pre and post application of NQAS standards. There was a significant improvement in knowledge ,attitude and practices of healthcare employees post NQAS . our sample size was 70 ,including 50 paramedics and 20 doctors (N=70). Results showed significant changes in knowledge ,attitude and practices of employees through implementation of quality standards in a peripheral care hospital as shown in tables 1a to 7c in discussion part. Conclusion: Study results showed significant statistical changes in knowledge attitude and practices through implementation of quality standards at a peripheral institute and highlights the need to implement same standards in other hospitals. Declaration : This was an observational study carried out at our hospital Since NQAS is a new concept in INDIA ,it is a pure research work with no external aid or funding as is evident from the literature regarding quality parameters in peripheral health institutions. This work has not been published previously in any journal.