Trust building in a Norwegian municipal acute ward
Journal of Health Organization and Management
ISSN: 1477-7266
Article publication date: 20 August 2020
Issue publication date: 15 September 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Trust plays an important role in the organisation of healthcare services. In Norway, the establishment of mandatory municipal acute wards with 24 h inpatient services introduces a new unit into the healthcare system. This article discusses how this new health care service succeeds in building trust with patients and among healthcare workers.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is an in-depth case study of a single, exemplary inter-municipal acute ward. The study draws on interviews with COPD patients, the leader and doctors at the ward. The study also includes observations of daily work at the municipal acute ward. Moreover, administrators and healthcare workers at related healthcare institutions have been interviewed. Data were analysed using a qualitative method.
Findings
The study reveals that trust is built in complex relations and that it has both individual and systemic factors. The practices employed in the daily treatment and care of patients and in encounters between health care personnel and patients are important trust-building processes; however, these processes depend on structures and routines that promote efficient and adequate inter-organisational communication and patient-oriented procedures.
Practical implications
The study provides insight into how trust dynamics work on multiple organisational levels and how they depend on both individual and systemic factors. Additionally, the study may provide a picture of the importance of trust in organising healthcare services in the future.
Originality/value
Lessons regarding trust building inspired by data from a case-study care institution can be applied in different care settings and countries.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
All authors have contributed equally. The article is part of a research project: “Municipal Acute Help – a new service between municipality and specialist health service”. Thanks to Jæren Øyeblikkelig Hjelp, Stavanger University Hospital, and the municipalities of Gjesdal, Klepp, Sandnes and Time that have participated in the research project. Thanks also to Regionale forskningsfond Vestlandet and Regionalt forskningsfond Rogalland that has contributed by funding the research.
Citation
Gjerstad, B., Nødland, S.I. and Teig, I.L. (2020), "Trust building in a Norwegian municipal acute ward", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 34 No. 6, pp. 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-11-2019-0334
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited