8 research outputs found
Barriers of inter-organisational integration in vocational rehabilitation
Introduction: A project of vocational rehabilitation was studied in Sweden between 1999 and 2002. The project included four public organisations: the social insurance office, the local health services, the municipal social service and the office of the state employment service. The aim of this paper was to analyse perceived barriers in the development of inter-organisational integration. <br><br> Theory: Theories of inter-professional and inter-organisational integration, and theories on organisational change. <br><br> Methods: In total, 51 semi-structured interviews and 14 focus group discussions were performed with actors within the project between 1999 and 2002. A thematic approach was used for the analysis of the data. <br><br> Results: Three different main themes of barriers emerged from the data: A Uncertainty, B Prioritising own organisation and C Lack of communication. The themes are interconnected in an intricate web and hence not mutually exclusive. <br><br> Conclusions and discussion: The barriers found are all related partly to organisational change in general and partly to the specific development of organisational integration. Prioritising of own organisation led to flaws in communication, which in turn led to a high degree of uncertainty within the project. This can be seen as a circular relationship, since uncertainty might increase focus on own organisation and lack of communication. <br><br> A way to overcome these barriers would be to take the needs of the clients as a point of departure in the development of joint services and to also involve them in the development of inter-organisational integration
Promoting a healthy diet and physical activity in adults with intellectual disabilities living in community residences: Design and evaluation of a cluster-randomized intervention
Innovation Management in Swedish Municipalities
Research on public sector innovation is still limited, and increased knowledge of innovation processes is needed. This article is a based on a study of the implementation of innovation policies in Swedish municipalities, and gives a first-hand, empirical view of some of the complexities of innovation in the public sector. The study took place in four municipalities in central Sweden. The municipalities varied in size and organisational forms. Interviews and policy documents were used for data collection.The results showed that the innovation policies were not followed by action, which may be described as not mobilizing dynamic capabilities to create innovativeness. Thus, dynamic capabilities, such as learning and HRM, Human Resource Management, were not used in conjunction with innovation. Particularly amongst senior management there was a negative attitude towards the innovative capacity of their organization. Middle management saw possibilities. However, barriers such as extensive control systems removed the focus from innovation. There was a lack of communication between senior management and middle management regarding innovation. The conclusion was that innovation, as both concept and practice, was not fully embraced by the municipalities. It is suggested that generative leadership, opening up communication within the organisations, especially between employees, could be beneficial, and that a common understanding and definition of the innovation concept is needed. Integration of top-down processes with bottom-up processes, such as employee-driven innovation, is also suggested
Innovation Management in Swedish Municipalities
Research on public sector innovation is still limited, and increased knowledge of innovation processes is needed. This article is a based on a study of the implementation of innovation policies in Swedish municipalities, and gives a first-hand, empirical view of some of the complexities of innovation in the public sector. The study took place in four municipalities in central Sweden. The municipalities varied in size and organisational forms. Interviews and policy documents were used for data collection.The results showed that the innovation policies were not followed by action, which may be described as not mobilizing dynamic capabilities to create innovativeness. Thus, dynamic capabilities, such as learning and HRM, Human Resource Management, were not used in conjunction with innovation. Particularly amongst senior management there was a negative attitude towards the innovative capacity of their organization. Middle management saw possibilities. However, barriers such as extensive control systems removed the focus from innovation. There was a lack of communication between senior management and middle management regarding innovation. The conclusion was that innovation, as both concept and practice, was not fully embraced by the municipalities. It is suggested that generative leadership, opening up communication within the organisations, especially between employees, could be beneficial, and that a common understanding and definition of the innovation concept is needed. Integration of top-down processes with bottom-up processes, such as employee-driven innovation, is also suggested
Employee-driven Innovation in Welfare Services
There is a growing interest in both employee-driven innovation (EDI) and innovation in welfare services, but a lack of empirical studies addressing innovation from the employee perspective. Accordingly, this study was designed to contribute with well-grounded empirical knowledge, aiming to explore the barriers to and opportunities for participation in innovation experienced by employees of the Swedish welfare services. In order to reach the aim, a qualitative thematic analysis of 27 semi-structured interviews with employees in four municipalities was performed. The study identified three main themes, with a great impact on the innovative performance of the studied organizations: support, including leadership and innovation processes; development, including creativity and learning; and organizational culture, which includes attitudes and communication, all essential ingredients in EDI. Experienced barriers for innovation were unclear or non-existing innovation processes with ambiguous goals, insufficient learning, and deficient organizational slack, thus creating a tension between day-to-day work and innovation and hindering reflection and exploration. Attitudes of colleagues and lack of communication were also barriers to implementing innovation, suggesting the need for better management support for a communicative and open culture. Opportunities were found, including commitment to innovation and willingness to try new ideas, but the employees must be given the mandate and sufficient time to develop the potential that emerges from continuous learning, time for reflection, and user dialogue. The conclusion was that incremental innovations existed, but the full potential of these did not benefit the entire organization due to inadequate communication and lack of innovation processes. The study improves our understanding of how employees regard their involvement in innovation. It also discusses how to make better use of employees’ resources in innovation processes andcontributes to important knowledge about EDI in the public sector. On the basis of our results, we suggest a model of EDI for use in practice
Experiences with treating immigrants: a qualitative study in mental health services across 16 European countries
While there has been systematic research on the experiences of immigrant
patients in mental health services within certain European countries,
little research has explored the experiences of mental health
professionals in the delivery of services to immigrants across Europe.
This study sought to explore professionals’ experiences of delivering
care to immigrants in districts densely populated with immigrants across
Europe.
Forty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health
care professionals working in 16 European countries. Professionals in
each country were recruited from three areas with the highest proportion
of immigrants. For the purpose of this study, immigrants were defined as
first-generation immigrants born outside the country of current
residence, including regular immigrants, irregular immigrants, asylum
seekers, refugees and victims of human trafficking. Interviews were
transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.
The interviews highlighted specific challenges to treating immigrants in
mental health services across all 16 countries including complications
with diagnosis, difficulty in developing trust and increased risk of
marginalisation.
Although mental health service delivery varies between and within
European countries, consistent challenges exist in the experiences of
mental health professionals delivering services in communities with high
proportions of immigrants. Improvements to practice should include
training in reaching appropriate diagnoses, a focus on building trusting
relationships and measures to counter marginalisation
Experiences with treating immigrants: a qualitative study in mental health services across 16 European countries
PURPOSE: While there has been systematic research on the experiences of immigrant patients in mental health services within certain European countries, little research has explored the experiences of mental health professionals in the delivery of services to immigrants across Europe. This study sought to explore professionals' experiences of delivering care to immigrants in districts densely populated with immigrants across Europe. METHODS: Forty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health care professionals working in 16 European countries. Professionals in each country were recruited from three areas with the highest proportion of immigrants. For the purpose of this study, immigrants were defined as first-generation immigrants born outside the country of current residence, including regular immigrants, irregular immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and victims of human trafficking. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The interviews highlighted specific challenges to treating immigrants in mental health services across all 16 countries including complications with diagnosis, difficulty in developing trust and increased risk of marginalisation. CONCLUSIONS: Although mental health service delivery varies between and within European countries, consistent challenges exist in the experiences of mental health professionals delivering services in communities with high proportions of immigrants. Improvements to practice should include training in reaching appropriate diagnoses, a focus on building trusting relationships and measures to counter marginalisation