Constructing a Problem Statement
What is a Problem Statement?
A problem statement is one or two sentences that identifies and summarizes a condition, problem, or issue that an improvement process is going to be developed to address.
A problem statement provides an articulate expression of what the improvement process (project) is setting out to achieve.
However, before a problem statement can be written there needs to be an understanding of the difference between the symptoms of a problem and an actual problem.
Symptoms are typically the only indication that there is a problem. Symptoms are the shadows of underlying problems; the evidence by which a problem affects staff and makes itself known. In other words, a symptom is not a problem, but rather the outcome of an actual problem. A problem can be defined as the gap between the existing state and the desired state of a process.
Constructing Your Problem Statement
To write a problem statement, answer the following questions and develop your one or two sentence statement from the answers.
| Questions | Example Responses |
| What is the problem? | Recommended screening is not being done |
| Who does this affect? | Providers who should be recommending/conducting the screening and patients who should be screened |
| How does this problem make you feel? | Negligent in providing care/services that align with current guidelines/evidence-based recommendations |
| When is it a problem? | Every time a patient is seen for whom the recommended screening is not occurring |
|
Why should I care? |
Desire to conduct the best patient engagement activities possible for promoting optimum patient outcomes |
|
How does it affect the customer? |
Absent or delayed screening may lead to the
development of adverse health conditions that might have been identified/intervened with earlier |
Tips for Writing a Problem Statement
· Look for the problem, not the solutions.
· Focus on one problem.
· Keep the statement to one or two sentences.
· Ensure you can distinguish between symptoms and problems. An effective method for doing this is to use the 5 Whys tool.
As you are considering and answering the questions in the first column, write down any key words.
Write the first draft of the statement describing the current state using the information you gathered. Thus, the example’s problem statement would be as follows:
Currently patient assessment practices are not consistently aligned with the USPSTF screening guidelines. This results in delayed screening for early detection of adverse health conditions.
| Questions | Responses |
| What is the problem? | |
| Who does this effect? | |
| How does this problem make you feel? | |
|
When is it a problem? |
|
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Why should I care? |
|
|
How does it affect the customer? |
Draft Problem Statement
Write the first draft of the statement describing the current state using the information you gathe
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