Health Organisation and Management Network

The network is interdisciplinary in that it seeks to draw on a range of methods and theoretical perspectives in order to develop a deeper understanding of health care management and organisational behaviour. The network is interested in understanding behaviour in both clinical and professional settings using disciplines drawn from across the social and health sciences including: sociology, economics, management, and political science.

Another aim of the network is to share learning and address practical issues and problems in managing and governing health care systems and organisations. Research carried out by members of the network falls under six key themes:

1. Health care quality and improvement, clinical governance, ethics and patient safety. This theme focuses on the evaluation of health care improvement methods and techniques, and analyses different approaches to measuring and increasing quality. Allied with this is an interest in the way that clinical quality is governed within health systems, how patient safety can be measured and improved, and ensuring that health care research and interventions are carried out and delivered ethically.
2. Professional identities and relations, leadership and development in health care organisations. This theme is concerned with the ways that different groups of health professionals interact with each other and the way that they view themselves within the health care setting. In addition to this the theme is also interested in approaches to leadership within healthcare, with particular reference to leadership of, and across, professional groups and the ways in which health care professionals and groups of professionals develop their skills.
3. Organisational incentives, rewards and culture. This theme is interested in the ways that health care organisations work and the cultures within these organisations. This theme has a particular interest in the ways that rewards and incentives can influence culture and the ways that they have been used within health systems to bring about organisational change.
4. Patient choice and public involvement, health and education. This theme focuses on the role of patients and the wider public within health systems. The theme is interested in the ways that patients have been able to exercise choice within health care systems and how, through involvement, the public can help to shape services and influence key decisions. Continuing on the public theme, this strand of research is also concerned with the analysis of public health campaigns and the ways in which public knowledge can be enhanced through health education.
5. Evaluation of commissioning/strategic purchasing practices, decision making and priority setting. This theme is concerned with the way that decisions are taken around the procurement of health services. The theme is particularly interested in decision making processes and how commissioning organisations set priorities and go about actually purchasing health care.
6. Health system organisation and integration, cross-national research and comparative institutional analysis. This theme takes a more strategic view of health services and focuses on the way that they are organised and run as well as looking at integration between different levels of health and related services. In addition, this research strand is concerned with comparative research between institutions within health economies and across national and health system boundaries.

Each of the six strands is led by a prominent academic in the field.

Upcoming Events

The first U21 Health Organisation Management Network meeting is planned for April 2014, to coincide with the Organisational Behaviour in Healthcare Conference in Copenhagen. To find out more about the OBHC conference please click the link below:

http://shoc.org.uk/?page_id=88

Key Contacts

This network is being co-ordinated by the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham.