The PhD defense will take place

December 15th 2022
Time: 11:00
Auditorium A, Forskningens Hus, Aalborg Universitetshospital

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

About the PhD thesis

Measurement of the quality of healthcare is an essential step towards
improvement. The complexity and multi-dimensionality of the quality
may require assessment of a large number of quality indicators to
cover different aspects of quality.

Composite measures, combination of multiple individual indicators,
enable users to quantify quality of care with a single score.
This thesis demonstrates the use and interpretation of composite
measures and investigates the strengths and limitations associated
with these measures.

In study I, a literature search was conducted to assess the use of
composite measures in the literature with an attention to methodological
considerations.

In study II, the quality of care provided to patients with heart failure
was quantified using different types of composite measures. Hospitals
were ranked and the rankability of composite measures was investigated.
The association between composite measures and 1-
year mortality was assessed.

In study III, the quality of care for patients with ischemic stroke was
quantified using different types of composite measures, hospital
ranks and rankability of composite measures were investigated. The
association between composite measures and 30-day mortality was
assessed. Additionally, performance of composite measures in predicting
30-day mortality was examined.

The results underlined that while use of composite measures can be
seen as a simple solution to summarize quality of care, it requires a
careful, step- by-step evaluation of the construction process and
transparent communication of the construction process and potential
limitations associated with composite measures.