Paper: Judgement Sampling; a healthcare perspective

A new paper from the healthcare statistical gurus Perla & Provost needs to be read by all leaders and improvement project leaders.

The premise is that we can't apply regular statistical approaches that rely on specific sampling techniques - if we're not using those sampling techniques. And in healthcare projects we seldom use scientific sampling methods, instead using a non-probability, judgement sampling method. In their paper they describe the method and  explain the impact for healthcare settings.

The paper is in a subscription only journal. (Bah-humbug...) So if you're not able to access this journal, you can learn more about judgement sampling at these places:

• FULL ACCESS PAPER: Sampling for qualitative research, by Martin Marshall
• List of definitions of various sampling methods
• What is judgement sampling?
• When to use and setback of judgement sampling
• Advantages & disadvantages of judgement sampling

The Perla & Provost paper can be found here:
Qual Manag Health Care. 2012 Jul;21(3):169-75.
Judgment sampling: a health care improvement perspective.

Managing the legacy of your project

Ending a project is as chaotic an affair as the start up. After the flurry of the beginning and the more measured stage of making progress, we are then faced with wrapping things up.  So what do you want to have as the legacy from your project?

Mostly it's all about figuring out how to keep the website going, debating where to put the useful resources that have been developed, and managing the process of celebrating results and saying goodbye to project teams.  But is this enough?

Project outcomes are good - and always worth advertising.

But what is your legacy? By legacy I mean the long term, sustainable, "thing" that has resulted form your program. Sometimes this isn't seen clearly until years later. There's an excellent paper I commend you to read which covers the difference between people, process and product legacies.  I particularly like the "reuse" concept.