Kosovo
Key Contacts
Dr. James Strickler
Cristina Hammond, MPH
Ellen Thompson, MS, RN
Introduction
The Kosovo Projects began with faculty and student exchanges between Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Prishtina Medical Faculty in 1999 shortly after the end of the war in Kosovo. The number and types of projects has grown since then to include orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, and neonatology. The most recent programs focused on reducing infant and maternal mortality. Since 2001, all Dartmouth programs in Kososo have included the use of Clinical Microsystems methodologies to drive improvements. Improving health care in post-war Kosovo presented challenges that are not unique, related to political instability, damaged infrastructure, and limited resources. The microsystems approach - focusing on team-building, systems of care, and data-based decision-making Ęproved effective in Kosovo to address both maternal health and chronic illness care. Strengthening primary care settings with microsystem improvements has thus far resulted in successes in leadership, teamwork, patient and staff satisfaction, and in the sustainability of these improvements. The use of Microsystems methods may enable primary care to be the focal point for improved health care in other low-resource, developing, or post-conflict countries.