Quality improvement in discharge planning through action research.

Action research can be employed effectively when embarking on quality improvement in healthcare. This article has two aims. The first is to describe and analyze the processes taking place during an action research project that focused on evaluating and improving discharge planning at a large metropolitan teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. The second is to discuss the factors required to improve health services through action research and the benefits of this as opposed to the traditional quality management approach (EQuIP) employed by Australian health services.