Wicked Health Care Issues: An Analysis of Finnish and Swedish Health Care Reforms

Abstract

Health care organizations function in multidimensional environments, and their organizational cultures are complex and demanding. Expectations for health care services are high: patients want the most effective and newest possible treatments, politicians demand accountable service production, and health care professionals require motivating and challenging work environments. All these goals and objectives, for example, can be at the root of wicked problems in health care management. Thus, this chapter aims to explore the wickedness of health care management through an analysis of Finnish and Swedish health care reforms. The aim of these reforms is to solve the problems encountered in health care systems and organizations. The concept of a ‘wicked issue’ can shortly be described as a problem that is difficult to identify and solve. The reasoning behind using the concept of wicked issue as a method for analysis here is the hypothesis that the concept helps to explain and understand the social complexity involved in health care management.

Citation

Vartiainen, P. (2005), "Wicked Health Care Issues: An Analysis of Finnish and Swedish Health Care Reforms", Savage, G.T., Chilingerian, J.A., Powell, M. and Xiao, Q. (Ed.) International Health Care Management (Advances in Health Care Management, Vol. 5), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 159-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-8231(05)05006-8