Quality of care in integrated community case management services in Bugoye, Uganda: a retrospective observational study

Table 4 GEE logistic regression models for overall quality of care over time

Variable	OR	95% CI	p value	Model QIC^a
Model 1: biannual groupings, with months 1–6 as reference group				n/a
Months 7–12	2.33	(1.33, 4.11)	p = 0.003
Months 13–18	1.84	(1.05, 3.20)	p = 0.032
Months 19–24	3.05	(1.76, 5.29)	p < 0.001
Model 2: time as a continuous variable				614.62
Months since iCCM services initiation	1.06	(1.02, 1.09)	p < 0.001
Model 3: time as a continuous variable, with a spline knot at month 6				612.16
Months since iCCM services initiation—months 1–6	1.24	(1.08, 1.43)	p = 0.003
Months since iCCM services initiation—months 7–24	1.01	(0.98, 1.04)	p = 0.47

^aQuasi-likelihood under the independence model criterion (QIC). This is a modification of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) so that it can be applied to GEE regression models to assess goodness of fit of different models. A lower QIC term reflects a better-fitting regression model. It is not applicable when using factor variables, so it is not calculated for Model 1, which uses a categorical time variable

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