Leading change in health care: the challenge of anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Duncan Edmonstone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the centrality of anxiety in health care, especially in the context of leading change. It identifies the importance of emotional labour for clinical professionals and the resultant development of defensive routines. The idea of containment is central to addressing anxiety. Design/methodology/approach The approach involves identification of anxiety as a key factor in leading change in health care, but one which is often ignored. Findings Anxiety is the elephant in the room vis-a-vis leading change in health care. To address the use of defensive routines, a range of activities can act as “containers” for anxiety and help with leading change. Practical implications To lead change in health care implies addressing the existence and importance of anxiety and the emotional labour which health-care professionals undertake. Originality/value The existence of anxiety and the profound impact it has on leading change in health care has typically been under-estimated or avoided. The paper aims to remedy this.

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-114
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman Khan ◽  
Stanislav Karapetrovic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore ISO 10001:2007 in planning, designing and developing a customer satisfaction promise (CSP) intended for inpatients care. Design/methodology/approach – Through meetings and interviews with research participants, who included a program manager, unit managers and registered nurses, information about potential promises and their implementation was obtained and analyzed. A number of promises were drafted and one was finally selected to be developed as a CSP. Findings – Applying the standard required adaptation and novel interpretation. Additionally, ISO 10002:2004 (Clause 7) was used to design the feedback handling activities. A promise initially chosen for development turned out to be difficult to implement, experience that helped in selecting and developing the final promise. Research participants found the ISO 10001-based method useful and comprehensible. Practical implications – This paper presents a specific health care example of how to adapt a standard’s guideline in establishing customer promises. The authors show how a promise can be used in alleviating an existing issue (i.e. communication between carers and patients). The learning can be beneficial in various health care settings. Originality/value – To the knowledge, this paper shows the first example of applying ISO 10001:2007 in a health care case. A few activities suggested by the standard are further detailed, and a new activity is introduced. The integrated use of ISO 10001:2007 and 10002:2004 is presented and how one can be “augmented” by the other is demonstrated.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Boström ◽  
Helene Hillborg ◽  
Johan Lilja

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge concerning the dynamics and potential cultural tensions that occur when applying user involvement and design thinking (DT) for improving quality in a health-care setting. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a case study following a quality improvement (QI) project in a medium-sized Swedish county council in the field of somatic care. The project involved eight health-care professionals, one designer, four patients and two relatives. A multiple data collection method over a period of ten months was used. It included individual interviews, e-mail correspondence and observations of workshops that covered the QI project. Findings The result shows tensions between QI work and the daily clinical work of the participants. These tensions primarily concern the conflict between fast and slow processes, the problem of moving between different fields of knowledge, being a resource for the individual clinic and the system and the participants’ expectations and assumptions about roles and responsibilities in a QI project. Furthermore, these findings could be interpreted as signs of a development culture in the health-care context. Practical implications There are several practical implications. Among others, the insights can inspire how to approach and contextualize the current concepts, roles and methods of DT and user involvement so that they can be more easily understood and integrated into the existing culture and way of working in the health-care sector. Originality/value This study provides a unique insight into a case, trying to uncover what actually is going on and perhaps, why certain things are not happening at all, when user involvement and design practices are applied for improving health-care quality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Joy M. Rooney

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review the current literature on compassion in mental health from a historical, service user and carer (SUAC)/academic researcher perspective with respect to the current paradigm/biomedical model. Design/methodology/approach Searches were conducted in CIANHL Complete, Academic Search Complete, British Education Index, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, Scorpus, Proquest Central using a simplified PRISM approach. Findings In the UK, the SUAC-movement facilitated the adoption of more compassionate mental health in statutory services. Across the world, compassion-based approaches may be viewed as beneficial, especially to those experiencing a biomedical model “treatment”. Health-care workers, suffering burnout and fatigue during neoliberal economics, benefit from compassion training, both in their practice and personally. Randomised control trials (RCTs) demonstrate compassion-type interventions are effective, given sufficient intervention timing, duration and design methodology. Psychology creates outcome measures of adequacies and deficiencies in compassion, demonstrating their importance statistically, with reservations. The effective protection of mental health by self-compassion in both SUACs and health care professionals is evident. It is clear from qualitative research that SUACs prefer compassionate mental health. It also makes a large difference to mental health in general populations. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are given, including a necessity to fund RCTs comparing compassionate mental health interventions with the biomedical model. Unless statutory mental health services adopt this emerging evidence base, medics and their SUACs will continue to rely on pharmaceuticals. Originality/value This is the first integrated literature review of compassion in mental health from a historical, SUAC/academic researcher viewpoint using all research methodologies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Armando López-Lemus ◽  
María Teresa De la Garza Carranza ◽  
Quetzalli Atlatenco Ibarra ◽  
José Guadalupe López-Lemus

Purpose The objective of this research is to know the degree of influence that strategic planning (SP) exerts on the tangible and intangible results of business microenterprises in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and cross-sectional, where a sample of 407 young leaders of microenterprises from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, was obtained. To evaluate hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM, they were absolutely acceptable. Findings The results obtained through Pearson’s correlation show that there is a positive and significant relationship between SP and the tangible and intangible results of microenterprises. In addition, through the results obtained with the SEM model, it is statistically demonstrated that SP positively and significantly influences the tangible and intangible results of microenterprises in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Research limitations/implications In this research, only SP was valued as a variable that intervenes in the process of achieving tangible and intangible results to achieve the business objectives of entrepreneurial microenterprises in the state of Guanajuato. It is essential to point out that other variables that intervene in the process must be considered to generate tangible and intangible results. It is recommended to carry out further research under these variables to identify strategies for improving entrepreneurial microenterprises for their growth, sustainability and rapid positioning in a highly competitive market. Practical implications SP represents one of the tools to achieve the success of microenterprises through tangible and intangible results. However, microenterprises show a need to involve the use and application of SP to define clear indicators that contribute to obtaining satisfactory tangible and intangible results. Originality/value The findings are relevant and of great value, because there is currently not enough research that focuses on the variables analyzed, in this sense, SP and the tangible and intangible results of young entrepreneurial leaders of microenterprises in the Mexican context. The limitations of this study lie in the low participation and interest of young microenterprise entrepreneurs in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Prenzler

Purpose This paper aims to identify key learnings around the concept of “grey corruption” by systematically reviewing the extant literature. The concept is addressed in terms of areas of alleged misconduct often considered “minor” or “borderline” in relation to “black corruption”. Common examples include favourable treatment of friends and relatives by public officials, receipt of gifts, excessive expenditures and pork barrelling, influence peddling through donations and lies and false promises. The focus of this study is on definitions, extent, public perspectives, explanations and evidence of promising prevention strategies. Design/methodology/approach Relevant sources were sought using systematic keyword searches of major criminological and political databases, a media database and relevant government and non-government websites, up to the end of December 2019. Findings The main findings were that there is no single accepted definition of grey corruption but that the concept remains useful, practice is often extensive, it is generally at odds with public opinion, opportunity is a key factor in its incidence and prevention requires the enactment and enforcement of clear principles. Research limitations/implications Media-reported cases were too numerous to analyse in detail for the present study. Practical implications Efforts to improve integrity in government need to take account of the concept. Rules require clarification and communication. Enforcement needs improvement. More experiments are needed in prevention. Social implications This paper captures a range of integrity issues of importance to the public but often downgraded or dismissed by politicians. Originality/value This paper is unique in reporting the results of a systematic search of the international literature on the topic.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocco Agrifoglio ◽  
Paola Briganti ◽  
Luisa Varriale ◽  
Concetta Metallo ◽  
Maria Ferrara

Purpose Building upon the practice-based framework, this paper aims to focus on working practices for understanding how knowledge is transferred among health-care professionals within hospitals. Design/methodology/approach Using an ethnographic and interpretative approach, the authors conducted preliminary research based on a quali-quantitative methodology within one of the largest hospitals in Southern Italy. Findings This study allowed to achieve several results that could be significant and relevant within the health-care sector. First, this paper identified some of the main working practices and their associated activities in health care. Moreover, this paper identified the main organizational forms and/or tools enabling hospital personnel to share and learn the various types of knowledge for each of the prior identified practices. Practical implications Hospital managers should develop strategies and policies that take into account the nature and typology of knowledge-sharing processes among health-care professionals in terms of practices. Originality/value The paper contributes to practice-based studies identifying identified some of the main working practices, as well as the main tools for sharing and learning of the various types of knowledge.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Valerie Iles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the challenges facing leaders in health care, to explore the impact of these on the choices available to healthcare leaders, and to re-visit the nature of leadership in general. It identifies a distinction between care that is a set of auditable transactions and care that is also a covenant, and suggests that leadership too can be practised in these distinctively different ways. It draws on a three year learning set of senior practitioners in the NHS in England. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the authors own observations over 25 years of educating and developing clinical leaders, and also on the insights of a learning set of senior NHS practitioners over a three period. Findings – The paper provides empirical insights about how both health care and leadership have changed over the last 30 years, and proposes that treating either of them as a set of auditable transactions in a market place results in dissatisfied leaders as well as practitioners, and that a covenant of both care and leadership needs to be understood and established. Research limitations/implications – Observations have been limited to the NHS in the UK although there are indications that the issues are of wider applicability. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the behaviours of those leading health care organisations, those being led, and those influencing the context. Originality/value – This paper challenges prevailing definitions of leadership and prevailing explanations for difficulties in health care organisations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruti Gafni ◽  
Tal Pavel

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the changes in cyberattacks against the health-care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The changes in cyberattacks of the health-care sector are analyzed by examination of the number and essence of published news concerning cybersecurity attacks on the health-care sector during 2019 and compared them to those published during 2020, based on two main websites, which review such incidents. Findings This study found that there was a significant growth in reports of cyberattacks on the health-care sector. Moreover, the number of cyberattacks fit interestingly to the pattern of waves of the disease, which expanded worldwide. During the first wave the number of reports was doubled or even tripled, compared to the same period in 2019, a tendency that was slightly waned afterwards. Practical implications This study helps to deepen the awareness of information security implications of a potential global devastating crisis, even in the cybersecurity domain, and on the health-care sector, among various other affected sectors and domains. Social implications COVID-19 pandemic created long-term wide-range changes that affect every individual and sector, mainly owing to the shift to remote working model, which impose long-term new cybersecurity changes, among them to the health-care industry. Originality/value This paper extends the existing information on implication of remote working model on information security and of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cybersecurity of health-care institutions around the world.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matias Escuder ◽  
Martin Tanco ◽  
Anabella Santoro

PurposeThis paper aims to outline the barriers in introducing Lean in health care and to asses which of these have a greater impact in the Uruguayan health-care sector.Design/methodology/approachTo uncover the barriers hindering Lean health-care implementation, a literature review was undertaken. Once identified, first-hand information was obtained from managers and professionals involved in managerial activities who evaluated each of the difficulties using a Likert scale.FindingsIn total, 17 barriers to the implementation of Lean health care were identified. Survey results show that the highest scores correspond to “controllable” barriers, those which can be overcome, almost exclusively, by the organization willing to implement the program.Practical implicationsManagers need to understand and ascertain the existing barriers before implementing Lean if they want to develop strategies to mitigate them. Although the exploratory study was conducted in the Uruguayan health-care sector, it could be replicated elsewhere.Originality/valueAn exhaustive list of barriers was synthesized and was later assessed by managers in the Uruguayan context. This is an important first step that could help foresee obstacles and develop strategies prior future implementation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Bertoldi ◽  
Chiara Giachino ◽  
Stefano Bernard ◽  
Virginia Prudenza

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the cross-border acquisition’s process through the Fiat-Chrysler case. Many automotive companies have considered cross-border mergers and acquisition (M & A) as a necessary step to face increasing competition and globalization, but only few of them were successful. In particular, some best practices in terms of lessons-learned are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of a cross-border acquisition: the qualitative approach allows authors to better understand all the dynamics, complexities and problems that characterize companies facing this process (Yin, 1984). Authors used public information, Internet sources and Fiat’s documents to gather all the necessary information. Findings – In a cross-border acquisition, compatibility and complementarity of products and markets are fundamentals, whereas unmanaged cultural differences, as well as misunderstanding of the real motivations, are a slow but deadly poison: integration and a clear common focus on the final target are key factor for success. Research limitations/implications – The investigation is limited to the strategy used by Fiat-Chrysler. If the authors’ suggestions can be confirmed or improved by using other case studies, guidelines could be very useful to companies dealing with M & A. Practical implications – The paper offers recommendations on how big companies can manage a cross-border acquisition, illustrates the key steps to be successful and tries to define the necessary elements for a successful M & A. Originality/value – The paper shows how two real multinational companies operating in the automotive sector have decided to become one entity; moreover, it highlights the fundamental steps of the process, giving to the management a good example of what must happen in reality.


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