​A new tool developed and tested by Dan Ward, Performance Improvement Manager in the Idaho Division of Public Health, and PHF Senior Quality Advisor Jack Moran, combines the functionality of three quality improvement (QI) tools, generating a holistic, streamlined result.

 

The purpose of the Analytic Cause Tree (ACT) tool is to help peel back the layers of a problem, reveal all of the possible causes, identify the root causes, develop corrective actions aligned to the root causes, and put the QI team’s thoughts, rationale, and conclusions all on one page. The root cause column can reveal patterns of causes that point to a common corrective action. These patterns can also show if more layers need to be peeled back, requiring more of the ‘why’ columns until a true root cause is identified. ACT is helpful when a QI team wants to find out what happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. ACT is made available as a supplement to the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia.