The Case Study series presents real applications of quality assurance (QA) methods in developing countries at various health system levels, from national to community. The series focuses on QA applications in child survival, maternal and reproductive health, and infectious diseases. Each case study focuses on a major QA activity area, such as quality design, quality improvement, communication and development of standards, or quality assessment. In some cases, more than one QA activity is presented. Quality improvement is a systematic process of addressing the gaps between current practices and desired standards. Effective approaches to quality improvement include individual problem solving, rapid team problem solving, systematic team problem solving, and process improvement. These methods vary in the time and resources required and the number of people who participate. Regardless of the rigor and intensity of the method used, quality improvement approaches usually share four basic steps: identification of opportunity for quality improvement, analysis of improvement area, development of possible interventions to address a need for improvement, and testing and implementing interventions. Sometimes, when the potential solutions to a problem are clearly defined, a shorter quality improvement activity focused on testing the alternatives is used. This case study illustrates how the quality improvement methodology--specifically rapid team problem solving--can be used to target areas for improvement and produce rapid, yet dramatic, improvements. (author's)