This document provides a set of standard operating procedures to design, implement, and evaluate a quality improvement program. It was developed as part of the Safe Care, Saving Lives quality improvement program which worked to improve the quality of care in public and private neonatal intensive care units in two states in India, where the number of newborn deaths is among the highest in the world.

The Safe Care, Saving Lives program helped ACCESS Health and our partners collect valuable notes, insights and lessons on the link between quality improvement, process outcomes, and neonatal mortality. This set of standard operating procedures is meant to serve as a guide to future implementers as they develop their own quality improvement programs in newborn care, and can also be applied into other specialized fields.

The procedures reflect what was done as a part of the Safe Care, Saving Lives program, including failures as well as successes. We recommend using this tool along with the Safe Care, Saving Lives Quality Improvement Toolkit and the Change Package for Quality Improvement in Newborn Care.