STRUCTURES, ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN PUBLIC HEALTH’S RESPONSE TO THE 2009-2010 H1N1 OUTBREAK: THE TIES THAT BIND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS AND EMERGENCY RISK COMMUNICATION EFFORTS

Little is known about the role of public health public information officers (PIOs) during public health emergencies. This study uses interpretative methods to learn about the organizational structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication efforts during public health emergencies. Interpretive thematic comparative analysis of PIOs experiences and reflections about their involvement in the 2009-2010 H1N1 response will be used to illustrate how social interactions between and among PIOs, public health staff, and representatives from other agencies create implicit and explicit structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication. The application of three specific concepts from structuration theory, namely, agent, duality of structure and institutionalized processes will be key in the exploration of the role of the PIO within the context of emergency planning and response. Participants in this study were individuals from Kentucky, North Dakota, New Jersey and California who served as a PIO during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic influenza response. The study’s findings suggest that social interactions between organizational members, in addition to the organization of public health systems in each state, contribute to the similarities and differences in the enactment of the PIO role. Further, this study also suggests that the permeability of emergency response plans, another type of organizational structure, facilitate and constrain PIOs’ emergency risk communication efforts. Finally, this study also suggests that the involvement of PIOs in emergency planning and exercises impacts the types of relationships that are created and maintained before and during emergency responses

Interaction with information in work and everyday life contexts: a qualitative study of the information behaviour of Saudi female academics

This study aims to investigate Saudi female academics’ information behaviour (IB) within their work and everyday life contexts. A qualitative research approach was adopted to investigate the range of information behaviour that the research participants engaged in. The data for this study were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews and diaries. Participants’ accounts were then subject to a rigorous thematic data analysis process. The research findings indicated that female academics who participated in this study engaged in three main categories of information behaviour: information acquisition, information avoidance, and information sharing. The motivations and the strategies associated with each category have been depicted in a taxonomy of information behaviour. In addition, a detailed analysis of participants’ IB as an action-oriented process has been presented visually, leading to the development of a model that depicts IB as a contextual process. [Continues.

A qualitative study of workflow and information systems within Emergency Departments in the UK

Background: Health Information Technology (HIT) has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery and reduce costs. However, the integration of HIT into healthcare workflows has experienced a range of issues during its implementation. It can adversely impact healthcare workflows, therefore reducing efficiency and safety in healthcare delivery. As healthcare settings are characterised by its own workflow, an in-depth understanding of the workflows of where the HIT to be implemented is crucial in order to avoid complexities that can arise. As there is a lack of research investigating an overall ED workflow, both clinical and non-clinical processes and practices, this research aims to gain an in-depth understanding of emergency care workflow which includes the work processes and practices of its clinicians and non-clinicians and its information artefacts. Methodology: This research employed a fieldwork case study approach analysing the work processes and practices of clinicians and non-clinicians in the delivery of emergency care. The approach was used in order to capture the situated nature of the ED workflow. The study was conducted in two emergency care settings located in the UK. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations and documents. A multiple triangulation technique: data triangulation and within-methods triangulation were employed in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The emergency care workflow consisted of multidisciplinary ED team members’ work processes. These work processes were comprised of collaborative clinical and non-clinical tasks and activities in delivering care treatment governed and defined by time-related activities, organisational rules, exceptions and variability. The workflow was supported by both computerised systems and non-computerised information artefacts, such as non-electronic whiteboards and paper-based records and forms, which needed to be used in conjunction with each other. Additionally, the hybrid implementation had also been utilised to support collaborative work of the clinicians and non-clinicians, hence giving the implication that HIT systems should not be designed as purely technical system focusing on single users, but also as a collaborative work system. Conclusion: An ED workflow consists of interrelated care processes, clinical and non-clinical processes. These processes are executed semi-autonomously by clinicians and non-clinicians and governed by time-related organisational constraints, variable and exception-filled, relying on hybrid information architecture. The architecture presented workflow with a number of integration issues. However, its implementation does not only support the functionalities for the delivery of emergency care processes but also the collaborative practices of the clinicians and non-clinicians

A qualitative study of workflow and information systems within Emergency Departments in the UK

Background: Health Information Technology (HIT) has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery and reduce costs. However, the integration of HIT into healthcare workflows has experienced a range of issues during its implementation. It can adversely impact healthcare workflows, therefore reducing efficiency and safety in healthcare delivery. As healthcare settings are characterised by its own workflow, an in-depth understanding of the workflows of where the HIT to be implemented is crucial in order to avoid complexities that can arise. As there is a lack of research investigating an overall ED workflow, both clinical and non-clinical processes and practices, this research aims to gain an in-depth understanding of emergency care workflow which includes the work processes and practices of its clinicians and non-clinicians and its information artefacts. Methodology: This research employed a fieldwork case study approach analysing the work processes and practices of clinicians and non-clinicians in the delivery of emergency care. The approach was used in order to capture the situated nature of the ED workflow. The study was conducted in two emergency care settings located in the UK. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations and documents. A multiple triangulation technique: data triangulation and within-methods triangulation were employed in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The emergency care workflow consisted of multidisciplinary ED team members’ work processes. These work processes were comprised of collaborative clinical and non-clinical tasks and activities in delivering care treatment governed and defined by time-related activities, organisational rules, exceptions and variability. The workflow was supported by both computerised systems and non-computerised information artefacts, such as non-electronic whiteboards and paper-based records and forms, which needed to be used in conjunction with each other. Additionally, the hybrid implementation had also been utilised to support collaborative work of the clinicians and non-clinicians, hence giving the implication that HIT systems should not be designed as purely technical system focusing on single users, but also as a collaborative work system. Conclusion: An ED workflow consists of interrelated care processes, clinical and non-clinical processes. These processes are executed semi-autonomously by clinicians and non-clinicians and governed by time-related organisational constraints, variable and exception-filled, relying on hybrid information architecture. The architecture presented workflow with a number of integration issues. However, its implementation does not only support the functionalities for the delivery of emergency care processes but also the collaborative practices of the clinicians and non-clinicians