Abstract

The primary purpose of practice improvement is to
improve clinical practice through changing the
behaviour of healthcare professionals. Breastfeeding is a key public health issue, conferring benefits associated with both infant and maternal health, yet breastfeeding rates in the UK and Ireland are among the lowest in Western Europe. In this paper, the ways in which practice improvement can be utilised to enhance both efficiency and
effectiveness are described, using a case study of the
potential contribution of health visitors to increasing
breastfeeding duration in primary care in order to
illustrate this in clinical practice.