Patient involvement in quality improvement
Doctoral thesis, 2016

Quality improvements (QI,) based on principles, practices, and tools developed in the manufacturing industry, is becoming a common approach in healthcare, as well as an increasing focus on patient involvement. Healthcare QI is driven by challenges such as future patients’ demand for higher quality of care and their desire to have an amplified impact on their health situation and care. Additional challenges include rapid technical development; decreasing resources, and expansion in the elderly population. Patient involvement in QI is growing as a means to increase the quality of care in healthcare settings; however, the field is still short of practical examples and research. This thesis explores the contributions and challenges of patient involvement in QI. The thesis is based on six appended papers, mainly based on action research (AR) in a specific hospital setting, where the research built on learning in action. Qualitative methods were predominantly used to generate the empirical material, although some quantitative methods were used. The findings demonstrate that patient involvement in QI makes a difference because patients can identify improvement areas that healthcare professionals may not. In addition, patient involvement illuminates the importance of viewing care from a patient perspective, which may help overcome existing gaps in the organizational structure, such as separation into specialist functions like different wards. The improvements reported in the appended papers address both technical (service delivered) and functional (how service was delivered) quality of care. In addition, patient involvement demands new ways of defining quality in healthcare. However, patient involvement in QI also presents challenges. First, patient involvement places patients and healthcare professionals in new roles as co-designers, which calls into question prevailing roles and relationships. Second, patient involvement in QI decreases power asymmetry in the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients. This power shift challenges healthcare professionals to revise their existing relationship to patients from one that creates value for patients to one that creates value with them. The research in this thesis contributes to an emerging science of improvement in healthcare; it makes a methodological contribution to AR and its use in combination with patient involvement in QI; and it provides practical examples of patient involvement in QI that can be of practical value to healthcare professionals.

patient roles

quality improvement

quality management

action research

healthcare

improvement knowledge

patient involvement

experienced-based co-design

Vasa A, Vera Sandbergs allé 8, Chalmers Tekniska högskola, Göteborg
Opponent: Glenn Robert, Professor, King's College, London, UK.

Author

Susanne Gustavsson

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Service Management and Logistics

Adopting a Management Innovation in a Professional Organization - The Case of Improvement Knowledge in Healthcare

Business Process Management Journal,;Vol. 21(2015)p. 1186-1203

Journal article

Improvements in neonatal care using experience-based co-design

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance,;Vol. 27(2014)p. 427-438

Journal article

Using an adapted approach to the Kano model to identify patient needs

TQM Journal,;Vol. 28(2016)p. 151-162

Journal article

En drivkraft i förbättringsarbetet inom sjukvården är att framtidens patienter troligtvis kommer att ställa större krav när det gäller delaktighet, kvalitet och öppenhet kring vårdens utformning. Att bjuda in patienter i förbättringsarbetet har nyligen lyfts fram som ett sätt skapa en bättre patientupplevd kvalitet men det saknas praktiska exempel och forskning inom området. Den här avhandlingen utforskar vilka bidrag och utmaningar som följer med att involvera patienter i förbättringsarbete. Avhandlingen inkluderar sex artiklar som främst bygger på aktionsforskning inom hälso- och sjukvård på sjukhus. Resultatet visar på att patientinvolvering i förbättringsarbete gör skillnad. Patienter identifierar förbättringsområden som inte tidigare identifierats av vårdpersonal, patienter belyser vikten av att basera förbättringsarbetet på patientens resa genom vården.Förutom de positiva effekterna bidrar patientinvolvering också med utmaningar. För det första så innebär det nya roller för både patienter och vårdpersonal, dessutom påverkas relationen mellan patient och vårdpersonal, vilket innebär att vårdpersonalen kan behöva se att de skapar värde tillsammans med patienten istället för att skapa värde för patienten. Avhandlingen bidrar till förbättringskunskap inom hälso- och sjukvård, till lärande kring aktionsforskning och med praktiska exempel av patientinvolvering i förbättringsarbete.

Healthcare QI is driven by challenges such as future patients’ demand for higher quality of care and their desire to have an amplified impact on their health situation and care. Patient involvement in QI is growing as a means to increase the quality of care in healthcare settings; however, the field is still short of practical examples and research. This thesis explores the contributions and challenges of patient involvement in QI. The thesis is based on six appended papers, mainly based on action research (AR). The findings demonstrate that patient involvement in QI makes a difference because patients can identify improvement areas that healthcare professionals may not. In addition, patient involvement illuminates the importance of viewing care from a patient perspective. However, patient involvement in QI also presents challenges. First, patient involvement places patients and healthcare professionals in new roles as co-designers, second, patient involvement in QI decreases power asymmetry in their relationship. This power shift challenges healthcare professionals to revise their existing relationship to patients from one that creates value for patients to one that creates value with them. The research in this thesis contributes to an emerging science of improvement in healthcare; it makes a methodological contribution to AR and its use in combination with patient involvement in QI; and it provides practical examples of patient involvement in QI.

Subject Categories

Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy

Areas of Advance

Life Science Engineering (2010-2018)

ISBN

978-91-7597-312-8

Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola. Ny serie: 3993

Vasa A, Vera Sandbergs allé 8, Chalmers Tekniska högskola, Göteborg

Opponent: Glenn Robert, Professor, King's College, London, UK.

More information

Created

10/7/2017