[Indicators of continuous improvement of the transfer of neonatal emergency cases in the Trento province].

The nursing personnel of the Neonatology Unit of Trento Hospital cares for the transportation of newborns in the Trento Province (more than 7500 transportations have been performed to date). Aim of the study is the evaluation of the quality of care as documented in the ad hoc neonatal transportation data-bank. A further goal is the formulation and validation of simple and easy to collect indicators of "improvement of care". Examples of indicators used to assess the activities of the years 1996 and 1997 were the number of transportations with functioning equipment; the number of newborns with body temperature registered; the number of transportation cards correctly filled out. These simple indicators allowed to identify areas where the quality of care could be improved. The cause-effect diagram used allowed the involvement of all the nursing personnel in the identification of problems and of possible solutions. An example of the process followed for identifying and preventing hypothermia is presented and discussed.