Strengths–Weaknesses–Opportunities–Threats Analysis for a Pediatric Anesthesia Program

Risk management in healthcare institutions begins by first identifying the potential risks within a certain organization or specific area and then goes on to develop further strategies to reduce harm. The most common tool for this type of analysis is Strengths–Weaknesses–Opportunities–Threats (SWOT). METHODS: We conducted a SWOT analysis in our pediatric anesthesia program: key factors were identified in a matrix, prioritized in a score table, represented in a graph, and finally analyzed. RESULTS: Items obtained partial scores from 20 to 120. The item “lack of clinical protocols” was given greater weight (60) and received a lower value (1), resulting in the highest partial score (60) among the negative key factors and indicating a need for greater efforts to improve this specific aspect. CONCLUSION: The SWOT tool proved effective in identifying safety and quality key factors, and it provided information for initiating an improvement program.