Evidence-based management – healthcare manager viewpoints
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
ISSN: 0952-6862
Article publication date: 11 June 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Hospital manager decisions can have a significant impact on service effectiveness and hospital success, so using an evidence-based approach can improve hospital management. The purpose of this paper is to identify evidence-based management (EBMgt) components and challenges. Consequently, the authors provide an improving evidence-based decision-making framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 45 semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2016. The authors also established three focus group discussions with health service managers. Data analysis followed deductive qualitative analysis guidelines.
Findings
Four basic themes emerged from the interviews, including EBMgt evidence sources (including sub-themes: scientific and research evidence, facts and information, political-social development plans, managers’ professional expertise and ethical-moral evidence); predictors (sub-themes: stakeholder values and expectations, functional behavior, knowledge, key competencies and skill, evidence sources, evidence levels, uses and benefits and government programs); EBMgt barriers (sub-themes: managers’ personal characteristics, decision-making environment, training and research system and organizational issues); and evidence-based hospital management processes (sub-themes: asking, acquiring, appraising, aggregating, applying and assessing).
Originality/value
Findings suggest that most participants have positive EBMgt attitudes. A full evidence-based hospital manager is a person who uses all evidence sources in a six-step decision-making process. EBMgt frameworks are a good tool to manage healthcare organizations. The authors found factors affecting hospital EBMgt and identified six evidence sources that healthcare managers can use in evidence-based decision-making processes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is based on an evaluation project supported by the Research Affairs Deputy at Tabriz Medical Sciences University (TUOMS). The authors acknowledge the Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management team. The authors thank E. HassanZadeh, H. Gharayie and Y. MosaZadeh for helping with data collection and all the interviewees for giving their experiences.
Citation
Janati, A., Hasanpoor, E., Hajebrahimi, S. and Sadeghi-Bazargani, H. (2018), "Evidence-based management – healthcare manager viewpoints", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 436-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-08-2017-0143
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited