International award winners

Prestigious quality in health care award

The Peter Reizenstein Award for Best Paper Published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care (IJQHC) in 2020 was awarded to Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation.

The paper “The 40 Health Systems, COVID-19 (40HS, C-19) study” was selected through a rigorous nomination and voting process.

The ground-breaking research examined health systems in 40 countries, comparing each country’s preparedness pre-pandemically; the way they responded with stringency measures (lockdown, masks, social distancing); and testing. The consequence for each national response was measured against the number of COVID-19 deaths and COVID cases in the first wave.

Testing was found to be the key factor for reducing deaths and also offering a pathway out of lockdowns that supports economic recovery, reported Professor Braithwaite.

The research showed that early stringency measures were necessary but not sufficient on their own. They were also not sustainable in the long term. Broad-based testing in tandem with stringency measures was central to improving outcomes.

Professor Braithwaite accepted this award on behalf of co-authors Professor Johanna Westbrook, Dr Yvonne Tran and Dr Louise Ellis, also from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation.

The prestigious award is named after Peter Reizenstein, International Society for Quality in Health Care’s (ISQua) first president and the founding editor of the International Journal for Quality in Health Care.

Jeffrey Braithwaite, Yvonne Tran, Louise A Ellis, Johanna Westbrook, The 40 health systems, COVID-19 (40HS, C-19) study, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, Volume 33, Issue 1, 2021, mzaa113, https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa113

CENTRES RELATED TO THIS NEWS

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and  Implementation Science

Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Chrissy Clay, Research Outreach Coordinator