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The study purpose was to describe the Swedish HealthPhys cohort. Using data from the HealthPhys study, we aimed to describe the prevalence of clinical burnout and major depression in a representative sample of Swedish physicians across gender, age, worksite, hierarchical position, and speciality in spring of 2021, during the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.The HealthPhys questionnaire was sent to a representative sample of practising physicians (n = 6699) in Sweden in February to May of 2021 with a 41.3% response rate. The questionnaire included validated instruments measuring psychosocial work environment and health including measurements for major depression and clinical burnout.Data from the HealthPhys study showed that among practising physicians in Sweden the prevalence of major depression was 4.8% and clinical burnout was 4.7%. However, the variations across sub-groups of physicians regarding major depression ranged from 0% to 10.1%. For clinical burnout estimates ranged from 1.3% to 14.5%. Emergency physicians had the highest levels of clinical burnout while they had 0% prevalence of major depression. Prevalence of exhaustion was high across all groups of physicians with physicians working in emergency departments, at the highest (28.6%) and anaesthesiologist at the lowest (5.6%). Junior physicians had high levels across all measurements.In conclusion, the first data collection from the HealthPhys study showed that the prevalence of major depression and clinical burnout varies across genders, age, hierarchical position, worksite, and specialty. Moreover, many practising physicians in Sweden experienced exhaustion and were at high risk of burnout.

ObjectivesTo explore and discuss the changes in the levels of work stress for Norwegian doctors in different job positions (hospital doctors, general practitioners (GPs), private practice specialists, doctors in academia) from 2010 to 2019.DesignRepeated questionnaire surveys in 2010, 2016 and 2019, where samples were partly overlapping.SettingNorway.ParticipantsA representative sample of 1500–2200 doctors in different job positions. Response rates were 66.7% (1014/1520) in 2010, 73.1% (1604/2195) in 2016 and 72.5% (1511/2084) in 2019.Main outcome measureValidated 9-item short form of the ‘Effort–Reward Imbalance’ questionnaire. A risky level of work stress was defined as an effort/reward ratio above 1.0.AnalysesLinear mixed models with estimated marginal means of job positions controlled for gender and age. Proportions with 95% CIs.ResultsFrom 2010 to 2016 and further to 2019, GPs reported a significant increase in levels on the effort scale (ES: 2.96, 3.25, 3.51) and significant decrease in levels on the reward scale (RS: 4.27, 4.05, 3.67). No significant changes were reported by hospital doctors (ES: 3.13, 3.10, 3.14; RS: 4.09, 3.98, 4.04), private practice specialists (ES: 2.58, 2.61, 2.59; RS: 4.32, 4.32, 4.30) and doctors in academia (ES: 2.63, 2.51, 2.52; RS: 4.09, 4.11, 4.14). The proportion of doctors with risky levels of work stress increased significantly for GPs (10.3%, 27.7%, 40.1%), but did not significantly change for hospital doctors (23.0%, 27.3%, 26.9%), private practice specialists (8.2%, 12.7%, 9.4%) and doctors in academia (11.9%, 19.0%, 16.4%).ConclusionDuring a 9-year period, the proportion of risky levels of work stress increased significantly for GPs but did not significantly change for other job positions. This may be partly due to changes in expectations of younger GPs and several healthcare reforms and regulations.

Health care is a complex system with multiprofessional staff and multiple patient care pathways. Time pressure and minimal margins for error make it challenging to implement new policies or procedures, no matter how desirable. Changes in health care also requires the participation of the staff. System dynamics (SD) simulations can lead to shared systems understanding and allows for the development and testing of new scenarios in silico before implementing solutions. However, research shows that the actual implementation rate of simulations is low. This paper presents a reanalysis of a successful change project in health care combining SD principles with basic action research (AR) premises. The analysis was done by a multidisciplinary research group using qualitative methodology and identifies that a fruitful combination of AR inquiry and SD modelling potentially can improve implementation rates. publishedVersion

BackgroundValue-based healthcare (VBHC) argues healthcare needs to be refocused to maximize value creation, defining value as the value quota (VQ) of outcomes important for the patient divided by the cost of the care. Value is central to the VBHC concept but could be an ambiguous term for professionals wanting to adopt the concept in an implementation process. We set out to explore the perception of value amongst different stakeholders who implement VBHC.Methods The perception of value, cost and VBHC was analysed using content analysis of semi-structured interviews from 19 clinicians and non-clinicians involved in implementation of VBHC. In addition, we exemplified the value quota (VQ) with data from a clinical trial to exemplify the possible association between patient reported outcome measurements (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire and the EQ5D ), their perception of care (n=248) and cost. ResultsClinicians described value as a dynamic concept dependent on the patient and the clinical setting, stating that improving outcomes was more important than containing costs. Value for non-clinicians appeared more driven by the interplay between the outcome and cost or resources. The quantitative data suggested a poor association between patients’ perception of value and VQ. ConclusionsOur findings indicate that there is great variation in how different stakeholders (clinicians, non-clinicians) perceive the key concept of value when implementing VBHC. The most dominant influence was the voice of clinicians, focusing on increasing treatment efficacy and improving medical outcomes but having a limited focus on cost and what matters to patients. Moreover, patients’ own perception of value provided during a care period was poorly connected to the calculated value quota. If the concept of value is defined primarly by clinicians’ own assumptions, there is a clear risk that history will simply be repeated and the need for innovation will not be met. A single-minded focus on value” could therefore result in missing the target. The patients’ and non-clinicians’ perception of value must also be integrated with the clinical perception, if VBHC is going to deliver on the promise to increase healthcare efficiency and effectiveness.

ObjectivesTo understand how doctors reflect on when and why they seek help from an organised peer-support service.DesignData were collected through audiotaped, qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed with systematic text condensation.SettingA peer-support service accessible to all doctors in Norway.ParticipantsThirteen doctors were interviewed after attending a counselling service in fall 2018. They were selected to represent variation in gender, demographics, and medical specialty. Doctors were excluded if the interview could not be held within 10 days after they had accessed peer support.ResultsThe doctors’ perspectives and experiences of when and why they seek support and their expectations of the help they would receive are presented, and barriers to and facilitators of seeking support are discussed. Three categories of help-seeking behaviour were identified: (1) ‘Concerned—looking for advice’ describing help seeking in a strenuous situation with need for guidance; (2) ‘Fear of not coping any longer’ describing help seeking when struggling due to unreasonable stress and/or conflict in their lives; and (3) ‘Looking for a way back or out’ describing help seeking when out of work. Expectations to the help they would receive varied widely. Motivations for seeking help had more to do with factors enabling or restricting help-seeking than with the severity of symptoms.ConclusionsMany different situations lead doctors to seek peer support, and they have various expectations of the service as well as diverse needs, motivations and constraints to seeking peer support. Further research is warranted to investigate the impact of peer support and how to tailor the service to best suit doctors’ specific needs.

Purpose The aim of this study has been to explore learning experiences from the two first years of the implementation of value-based healthcare (VBHC) at a large Swedish University Hospital. Design/methodology/approach An explorative design was used in this study. Individual open-ended interviews were carried out with 19 members from four teams implementing VBHC. Qualitative analysis was used to analyse the verbatim transcripts of the interviews. Findings Three main themes pinpointing learning experiences emerged through the analysis: resource allocation to support implementation, anchoring to create engagement and dedicated, development-oriented leadership with power of decision. Resource allocation included the need to set aside time and administrative resources and also the need to adjust essential IT-systems. The work of anchoring to create engagement involved both patients and staff and was found to be a never-ending task calling for deep commitment. The hospital top management’s explicit decision to implement VBHC facilitated the implementation process, but the team leaders’ lack of explicit management mandate was experienced as obstructing the process. The development process contributed not only to single-loop learning but also to double-loop learning. Originality/value Learning experiences drawn from implementing VBHC have not been studied before, and thus the results of this study could be of importance to managers and administrators wanting to implement this concept in their respective organizations.

Healthcare organizations are influenced by the surrounding society and are subject to frequent changes in most countries, including Norway. Studies document that changes in the healthcare organization influence the doctors’ work-life and well-being, and may in turn impact quality of patient care.

Key Points Question Are there targetable individual characteristics and workplace elements that are associated with surgical resident well-being, and do these differ by gender identity? Findings In this mixed-methods study of 98 US surgical trainees, women surgical residents were significantly more likely to report high depersonalization and lower mindfulness tendencies compared with men trainees. Scheduling conflicts and organizational priorities emerged as the greatest barriers to using well-being resources; training in affective regulation skills, advance scheduling of time off, attention to work quality (vs quantity), and avenues of recourse for rectifying inefficient systems were cited as key components of an effective and holistic well-being program. Meaning In this study, participants indicated that multilevel and holistic well-being programs would benefit surgical trainees, but tailoring them to address individual characteristics and workplace elements is critical., This mixed-methods study explores individual and workplace factors that are associated with surgical trainees’ well-being, differences by gender identity, and end-user perceptions of experience., Importance Physician well-being is a critical component of sustainable health care. There are few data on the effects of multilevel well-being programs nor a clear understanding of where and how to target resources. Objective To inform the design of future well-being interventions by exploring individual and workplace factors associated with surgical trainees’ well-being, differences by gender identity, and end-user perceptions of these initiatives. Design, Setting, and Participants This mixed-methods study among surgical trainees within a single US academic surgical department included a questionnaire in January 2019 (98 participants, including general surgery residents and clinical fellows) and a focus group (9 participants, all clinical residents who recently completed their third postgraduate year [PGY 3]) in July 2019. Participants self-reported gender (man, woman, nonbinary). Exposures Individual and organizational-level initiatives, including mindfulness-based affective regulation training (via Enhanced Stress Resilience Training), advanced scheduling of time off, wellness half-days, and the creation of a resident-driven well-being committee. Main Outcomes and Measures Well-being was explored using validated measures of psychosocial risk (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, languishing, anxiety, high psychological demand) and resilience (mindfulness, social support, flourishing) factors. End-user perceptions were assessed through open-ended responses and a formal focus group. Results Of 98 participants surveyed, 64 responded (response rate, 65%), of whom 35 (55%) were women. Women vs men trainees were significantly more likely to report high depersonalization (odds ratio [OR], 5.50; 95% CI, 1.38-21.85) and less likely to report high mindfulness tendencies (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05-0.53). Open-ended responses highlighted time and priorities as the greatest barriers to using well-being resources. Focus group findings reflected Job Demand–Resource theory tenets, revealing the value of individual-level interventions to provide coping skills, the benefit of advance scheduling of time off for maintaining personal support resources, the importance of work quality rather than quantity, and the demoralizing effect of inefficient or nonresponsive systems. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, surgical trainees indicated that multilevel well-being programs would benefit them, but tailoring these initiatives to individual needs and specific workplace elements is critical to maximizing intervention effects.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover paradoxes emerging from physicians’ experiences of a patient-centered and team-based ward round, in an internal medicine department. Design/methodology/approach Abductive reasoning relates empirical material to complex responsive processes theory in a dialectical process to further understandings. Findings This paper found the response from physicians, to a patient-centered and team-based ward round, related to whether the new demands challenged or confirmed individual physician’s professional identity. Two empirically divergent perspectives on enacting the role of physician during ward round emerged: We-perspective and I-perspective, based on where the physician’s professional identity was centered. Physicians with more of an I-perspective experienced challenges with the new round, while physicians with more of a We-perspective experienced alignment with their professional identity and embraced the new round. When identity is challenged, anxiety is aroused, and if anxiety is not catered to, then resistance is likely to follow and changes are likely to be hampered. Practical implications For change processes affecting physicians’ professional identity, it is important for managers and change leaders to acknowledge paradox and find a balance between new knowledge that needs to be learnt and who the physician is becoming in this new procedure. Originality/value This paper provides increased understanding about how physicians’ professional identity is interacting with a patient-centered ward round. It adds to the knowledge about developing health care in line with recent societal requests and with sustainable physician engagement.

Purpose This study explores four pilot teams’ experiences of improvements resulting from the implementation of value-based healthcare (VBHC) at a Swedish University Hospital. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of VBHC when used as a management strategy to improve patients’ health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory design was used and qualitative interviews were undertaken with 20 team members three times each, during a period of two years. The content of the interviews was qualitatively analysed. Findings VBHC worked as a trigger for initiating improvements related to processes, measurements and patients’ health outcomes. An example of improvements related to patients’ health outcomes was solving the problem of patients’ nausea. Improvement related to processes was developing care planning and increasing the number of contact nurses. Improvement related to measurements was increasing coverage ratio in the National Quality Registers used, and the development of a new coding system for measurements. VBHC contributed a structure for measurement and for identification of the need for improvements, but this structure on its own was not enough. To implement and sustain improvements, it is important to establish awareness of the need for improvements and to motivate changes not just among managers and clinical leaders directly involved in VBHC projects but also engage all other staff providing care. Originality/value This study shows that although the VBHC management strategy may serve as an initiator for improvements, it is not enough for the sustainable implementation of improvement initiatives. Regardless of strategy, managers and clinical leaders need to develop increased competence in change management.

ObjectivesDoctors increasingly experience high levels of burnout and loss of engagement. To address this, there is a need to better understand doctors’ work situation. This study explores how doctors experience the interactions among professional fulfilment, organisational factors and quality of patient care.DesignAn exploratory qualitative study design with semistructured individual interviews was chosen. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed by a transdisciplinary research group.SettingThe study focused on a surgical department of a mid-sized hospital in Norway.ParticipantsSeven doctors were interviewed. A purposeful sampling was used with gender and seniority as selection criteria. Three senior doctors (two female, one male) and four in training (three male, one female) were interviewed.ResultsWe found that in order to provide quality care to the patients, individual doctors described ‘stretching themselves’, that is, handling the tensions between quantity and quality, to overcome organisational shortcomings. Experiencing a workplace emphasis on production numbers and budget concerns led to feelings of estrangement among the doctors. Participants reported a shift from serving as trustworthy, autonomous professionals to becoming production workers, where professional identity was threatened. They felt less aligned with workplace values, in addition to experiencing limited management recognition for quality of patient care. Management initiatives to include doctors in development of organisational policies, processes and systems were sparse.ConclusionThe interviewed doctors described their struggle to balance the inherent tension among professional fulfilment, organisational factors and quality of patient care in their everyday work. They communicated how ‘stretching themselves’, to overcome organisational shortcomings, is no longer a feasible strategy without compromising both professional fulfilment and quality of patient care. Managers need to ensure that doctors are involved when developing organisational policies, processes and systems. This is likely to be beneficial for both professional fulfilment and quality of patient care.

PurposeTo improve health‐care delivery from within, managers need to engage physicians in organisational development work. Physicians and managers have different mindsets/professional identities which hinder effective communication. The aim of this paper is to explore how managers can transform this situation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' interview study reveals physicians' own perspective on engagement for organisational improvement. They discuss identities from three theoretical perspectives and explore the mindsets of physicians and managers. They also explore the need to modify professional identities and how this can be achieved.FindingsIf managers want physicians to engage in improvements, they must learn to understand and appreciate physician identity. This might challenge managers' identity. The paper shows how managers – primarily in a Swedish context – could act to facilitate physician engagement. This in turn might challenge physician identity.Research limitations/implicationsStudies from the western world show a coherent picture of professional identities, despite structural differences in national health‐care systems. The paper argues, therefore, that the results can be relevant to many other health‐care systems and settings.Originality/valueThe paper provides an alternative to the prevailing managerial control perspective. The alternative is simple, yet complex and challenging, and as the authors understand it, necessary for health care to evolve, from within.

Background Implementing the value-based healthcare concept (VBHC) is a growing management trend in Swedish healthcare organizations. The aim of this study is to explore how representatives of four pilot project teams experienced implementing VBHC in a large Swedish University Hospital over a period of 2 years. The project teams started their work in October 2013. Methods An explorative and qualitative design was used, with interviews as the data collection method. All the participants in the four pilot project teams were individually interviewed three times, with interviews starting in March 2014 and ending in November 2015. All the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative analysis. Results Value for the patients was experienced as the fundamental drive for implementing VBHC. However, multiple understandings of what value for patients’ means existed in parallel. The teams received guidance from consultants during the first 3 months. There were pros and cons to the consultant’s guidance. This period included intensive work identifying outcome measurements based on patients’ and professionals’ perspectives, with less interest devoted to measuring costs. The implementation process, which both gave and took energy, developed over time and included interventions. In due course it provided insights to the teams about the complexity of healthcare. The necessity of coordination, cooperation and working together inter-departmentally was critical. Conclusions Healthcare organizations implementing VBHC will benefit from emphasizing value for patients, in line with the intrinsic drive in healthcare, as well as managing the process of implementation on the basis of understanding the complexities of healthcare. Paying attention to the patients’ voice is a most important concern and is also a key towards increased engagement from physicians and care providers for improvement work.

The need for trans-professional collaboration when developing healthcare has been stressed by practitioners and researchers. Because physicians have considerable impact on this process, their willi ...

The purpose of this article is to investigate throughput time benefits when implementing cross-functional teams in a service organisation. The cross-functional teams, consisting of key human resources, are similarly designed to work cells within Cellular Manufacturing. Cellular manufacturing is an approach within manufacturing to achieve production flexibility and to shorten throughput time. This paper reports the results from implementing the cellular manufacturing principle at a Swedish emergency department, aiming at decreasing patient throughput time and time-to-doctor. The main approach was to introduce a team-based organisation, also involving some elimination of process steps. The quantitative evaluation of patient data shows significant reduction in mean values of up to about 40 minutes for some patient groups, combined with an increased portion of the doctors’ time together with the patients. The qualitative evaluation of the study show enhanced teamwork and communication, and also improved visibility and understanding of the work tasks of other team members.

The need for trans-professional collaboration when developing healthcare has been stressed by practitioners and researchers. Because physicians have considerable impact on this process, their willingness to become involved is central to this issue.This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how physicians view their engagement in healthcare development.Using a grounded theory approach, the study developed a conceptual model based on empirical data from qualitative interviews with physicians working at a hospital (n = 25).A continual striving for experiences of usefulness and progress, conceptualized as 'striving for professional fulfilment' (the core category), emerged as a central motivational drive for physician engagement in healthcare development. Such experiences were gained when achieving meaningful results, having impact, learning to see the greater context and fulfilling the perceived doctor role. Reinforcing organizational preconditions that facilitated physician engagement in healthcare development were workplace continuity, effective strategies and procedures, role clarity regarding participation in development and opportunities to gain knowledge about organization and development. Two opposite role-taking tendencies emerged: upholding a traditional doctor role with high autonomy in relation to organization and management, clinical work serving as the main source of fulfilment, or approaching a more complete 'employeeship' role in which organizational engagement also provides a sense of fulfilment.Experiencing professional fulfilment from participation in healthcare development is crucial for sustainable physician engagement in such activities.

The purpose of this study is to explore how representatives from four project teams understand the concept of value-based healthcare (VBHC), since each representative is responsible for one of the pilot projects implementing VBHC at a university hospital in Sweden. A qualitative design was used to gain understanding of VBHC. Open-ended interviews were used as the data-collection method and content analysis of the transcribed interviews was carried out. Participants’ understanding of VBHC focused on how value was created for the patient and on measuring medical outcomes and costs, although costs were to some extent put aside. To measure value for the patients, it was the health professionals’ perspective about what patient should value that dominated the understanding of the concept VBHC. VBHC was understood as a strategy to strengthen value innovations and to loosen the grip of economic control. Benchmarking was seen as a future possibility to develop value innovations. Changes in organizational culture were understood by participants as a need to change healthcare from being professional-centred to patient-centred. The way the concept was understood omits parts of the original concept. This has implications for whether or not the concept as it is described by the participants should be understood as VBHC according to the intentions of the strategy described. The development of outcome measures was predominantly based on the health professionals’ experiences, which is why the patients’ perspective needs to be strengthened. Further studies of the process of implementing VBHC are needed.

Background: Rounding has long traditions within hospital-based healthcare, as a way to organize the ward-based part of the care and cure process. Despite an increased emphasis on patient participation, there has been limited research exploring physician experiences of actually applying these principles to the ward round. Aim: To explore physician experiences after changing to a patient-centered and team-based ward round, in an internal medicine department at a Swedish mid-size hospital. Methods: Qualitative exploratory case-study. Semi-structured interviews with 13 physicians (six consultants, three residents, four interns) have been carried out. All interviews have been transcribed and analyzed by qualitative method. Results: The traditional relationship of superiority and subordination, embodied by the patient lying down in bed and the physician standing over the bed, was one essential change in the new ward round. Physicians experienced that less hierarchical relationships with patients, combined with working in a multi-professional team, contributed to better-informed clinical decisions, fewer follow-up questions from patients, and increased professional fulfilment. However, physicians also experienced that their autonomy was being reduced, and there was uneasiness about exposing potential knowledge gaps in front of others. Conclusions: This qualitative study of physician experiences finds that patient-centered and team-based ward rounds is a fertile development journey forward. Also important to notice are the seemingly new and paradoxical findings that despite the introduction of the “right” ward round structure, negative experiences emerged as unwanted side effects to the positive experiences reported. It could be beneficial for leaders in healthcare (both managers and physicians) to consider these results to facilitate future ward round initiatives.