Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, & Complex Systems
- Overview
- Databases
- Reports & More
- Research Data Management This link opens in a new window
- Patient Safety Organizations
- Other Resources
- Tools & Measurement Instruments
- Laws & Public Policy
- NIH Public Access Policy This link opens in a new window
- Research Funding & Grants This link opens in a new window
Library Contact
Announcement re: Federal Govt Data
U.S. government sites are modifying some data, and some datasets may not be accessible on the site. Look for a notice like this on visible web pages.

To search for websites/datasets that appear to be inaccessible, check the resources on the individual tabs.
Finding Government Information during the 2025 Administration Transition: https://libguides.umn.edu/
From KFF: A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline: https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/a-look-at-federal-health-data-taken-offline/
To search across sites, from Boston University: https://www.FindLostData.org
The Data Rescue Project's Data Rescue Tracker: https://www.datarescueproject.org/data-rescue-tracker/
Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/ Search by URL, if you have it, or by dataset or organization name, then click on the most recent date on the calendar of results. Data is from the end of administration project that they produce every 4 years (in this case, 28 Jan 2025).
Policy Map: https://www.policymap.com/blog/purged-federal-agency-data-available Including data from CDC PLACES (Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates), the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), & others.
ICPSR: is saving CDC data https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/ICPSR/index.html
Preserving Public U.S. Federal Data: https://lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/01/30/preserving-public-u-s-federal-data/ (data not currently available until spring)
Welcome!
Welcome to the research guide for Patient Safety. Here you'll find resources and information that will help you with your research. Click on the tabs on this page to uncover detailed lists of resources to help answer your questions. Each tab leads you to the best sources for finding statistical data, journal articles, citation analysis, and more.
If you've been searching and can't find what you're looking for, please contact me. I can:
- Help with your literature searches, including advanced techniques for database searching
- Orient you to the library resources available through U-M
- Teach you citation management tools (EndNote, etc.) that can save you time formatting your citations and bibliography
For help in using the library, watch these videos:

Measure Dx: A Resource To Identify, Analyze, and Learn From Diagnostic Safety Events.
It includes 4 sections that outline a series of steps to begin and sustain measurement of diagnostic safety.
- Part I outlines ways to engage people in the organization to ensure adequate resources to implement measurement and learning activities.
- Part II contains a self-assessment checklist to gauge readiness for implementation, as well as guidance for choosing a measurement strategy that fits with your organization's resources.
- Part III describes four different strategies (systematic approaches to measurement) based on different types of data sources.
- Part IV provides recommendations for systematically reviewing and analyzing case data and translating findings into useful insights for learning and improvement.
Studying complexity in health services research: desperately seeking an overdue paradigm shift.
Trisha Greenhalgh and Chrysanthi Papoutsi, BMC Medicine 2018; 16:95
Abstract
Complexity is much talked about but sub-optimally studied in health services research. Although the significance of the complex system as an analytic lens is increasingly recognised, many researchers are still using methods that assume a closed system in which predictive studies in general, and controlled experiments in particular, are possible and preferred. We argue that in open systems characterised by dynamically changing inter-relationships and tensions, conventional research designs predicated on linearity and predictability must be augmented by the study of how we can best deal with uncertainty, unpredictability and emergent causality. . . . Each of the initial five papers in this collection illustrates, in different ways, the value of theoretically grounded, methodologically pluralistic, flexible and adaptive study designs. We propose an agenda for future research and invite researchers to contribute to this on-going series.
Resources
Michigan Medicine has been a national leader in patient safety for years. Below are some links to important patient safety resources from Michigan Medicine and the Ann Arbor VA Hospital.
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Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety (CHEPS)Conducts research using multi-disciplinary, systems engineering-based approach.
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Michigan Medicine - Quality & SafetyA site for patients and their families on various quality and safety initiatives at Michigan Medicine.
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Michigan Medicine - Quality: Internal, ToolsIncludes 5 Whys Template, 8 Wastes Handout, Action Item Tracking, & more.
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Patient Safety Enhancement ProgramConducts research that focuses on methods of avoiding or preventing adverse patient outcomes or injuries that stem from the processes of healthcare. From the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center/U of M Patient Safety Enhancement Program (PSEP).
The organizations below make grants to fund patient safety and quality initiatives. This list is not exhaustive.
