{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T19:32:13Z","timestamp":1787686333729,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Afr J Lab Med"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programme is a large-scale effort to improve the quality of laboratories in resource-limitedcountries.Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the first four years (2010\u20132013) of SLMTA implementation.Methods: Country-level data were submitted by SLMTA programme leads and compiledglobally. Performance was measured before (baseline) and after (exit) SLMTA implementation using an audit checklist which results in a percentage score and a rating of zero to five stars. Some laboratories continued to monitor performance in post-exit surveillance audits. We evaluated score improvements using two-tailed t-tests for equal variances and estimated the number of tests performed by SLMTA laboratories based on star level.Results: SLMTA was implemented in 617 laboratories in 47 countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and Southeast Asia. At the baseline audit, the laboratories scored an average of 39% on the checklist and 84% of them were rated below one star. As of December 2013, 302 laboratories had completed the SLMTA programme; mean checklist scores increased from39% at baseline to 64% at exit (p &lt; 0.001) over an average 16-month programme duration. Ninety-two laboratories conducted a surveillance audit at a median of 11 months after their exit audit; 62% further increased their performance. Six SLMTA laboratories have achieved accreditation status. In total, the 617 SLMTA laboratories conduct an estimated 111 milliontests annually. Only 16% of these tests were conducted by laboratories with at least one star at baseline, which increased to 68% of tests after SLMTA training. Thus, approximately 23 million tests are conducted annually by laboratories previously at zero stars that now have one to five stars; this number is projected to increase to 58 million when currently-enrolled laboratories complete the programme.Conclusion: SLMTA has transformed the laboratory landscape in resource-limited countries worldwide and has the potential to make a substantial and sustainable impact on the qualityof laboratory testing and patient care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/ajlm.v3i2.262","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,11,3]],"date-time":"2014-11-03T09:10:58Z","timestamp":1415005858000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["Evidence from 617 laboratories in 47 countries for SLMTA-driven improvement in quality management systems"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"3","author":[{"given":"Katy","family":"Yao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth T.","family":"Luman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"SLMTA","family":"Collaborating Authors","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0001","author":"United Nations General Assembly. 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