Sustaining an Action in a Healthcare Setting - Research Paper Example

Sustaining an Action Research project in a healthcare setting Introduction Action Research exists under the Action Culture of Inquiry, which has unique elements alienating it from other cultures of inquiry. Its main unique aspect is that it pays more attention to the parties involved in the process of research, the approach taken in conducting the research, the authority held by the researcher, how the results are used by the researcher, how the observations are utilized, and finally the social change achievable from the outcomes. Action Research can be Appreciative Inquiry or Participatory Action Research. Appreciative Inquiry is the form of action approach in which an agency or team seeks to find out what can be done to improve practice. It does not inflict social change directly, but can influence an agency to inflict the change indirectly. On the other hand, Participatory Action Research applies a more democratic approach in inflicting social change through service improvement. The participants in this form of inquiry constitute of a community group as opposed to Appreciative Inquiry’s work team or agency (Creswell, 2014). In short, it directly addresses community concerns, thus the outcomes contribute to social change directly. In health care it can be applied in devising evidence which can be used in sustaining and supporting action research projects, as the following study text highlights. Literature review In their article, Appreciating and Developing Compassionate Care in an Acute Hospital Setting Caring for Older People, Belinda Dewar and Richard Mackay seek to address the factors which would boost the culture of caring in health care. Their overall objective is to devise systematic practices which can act as realistic models which will enhance the offering of compassionate care in the future. The article is a research in which the reasons which may contribute to offering of better compassionate care are discussed. In its approach, the article involves support staff and patients, and is therefore more of an Appreciative Inquiry than it is a Participatory Action Research. Dewar and Mackay (2010) state that there is an increased concern with regards to the provision of effective compassionate care in the health care fraternity. This they point at the growing feeling that nurses are becoming inconsistent, and that complains about the quality of care provided. They also highlight the need for care which is person-centered, and collectively strengthening the climate for provision. The cultural issues surrounding the adoption and implementation of a mitigation approach include lack of the will to change by the care providers. This can be attributed to them being used to certain ways of executing their duties. This cultural affixation would act as a barrier to the adoption of the same. The authors also blame the nature of relationships between staff and the elderly as being a causal factor in the lagging provision of the same. This also points out a cultural barrier which might hinder the implementation of the proposed approach. In a nutshell, changing the way of doing things to match with the new approach poses as the biggest challenge to the implementation and adoption. The idea of any research methodology is to overcome the challenges or limitations of outdated (traditional) methodologies when conducting research. Relating this to the medical settings, it can be stated that in organizations, implementing changes cannot happen as initially planned and therefore requires a cycle of action and reflection. It is therefore sufficient to state that the said changes can be implemented by use of strategies (approaches) which are involving and improving as well so that the participants understand what they are all about. Leadership and management challenges in implementing an Action Research project After realizing that some improvements need to be implemented within a healthcare setting, it is possible to invent an Action Research Project. This project seeks to address improvement, rather than focus on the causal problems. There are, however challenges which are associated with implementing such projects, and particularly in the leadership and/or management context. The following section highlights the main challenges which may hinder the implementation of an Action Research Project in health care. The first challenge is the uncertainty with regards to the processes or dynamics within the medical setting that could support the proposed project. This is evidenced by the fact that the implementation climate goes a long way in determining the success or failure of any changes in an organization. If this concern is anything to go by, it therefore means that the more supported a proposed plan or strategy is, the likelier it is to succeed. A project may be overly unsupported if the terms, it brings with it are different from what the health settings’ missions, visions, processes, and values. All these represent the cultures of the said organization (Caldwell, et.al, 2008). The second challenge affecting the leadership in healthcare when implementing such a project is the nature of the leadership itself. This is related to the manner of team leadership. In as much as a proposed change may depend on support from the participants to succeed, it may be affected by the managers of that group. This is so because the manner in which they organize their teams may either hasten or drag the speed of implementing the same (Pryor, et. al, 2008). An ineffective leadership would not be able to provide sufficient briefing on what the project entails, what the participants are supposed to do, or what the said Action Research Project is bound to benefit them with. An insufficiently informed team is likely to resist change. The third challenge in the health care setting relies on the cultural readiness for change. The preparedness or capability of a team to implement changes may overshadow the question as to whether a project is supported or not. The issue of readiness affects both clients and providers as well. If the two are on common grounds of agreement, then a conducive “service climate” is created, and the fostering or implementation of an Action Research Project is possible. Cultural readiness is defined by whether the involved participants are punished for resisting change, or whether they get rewarded for embracing it (Raynolds & Chatfield, 2007). This again depends on the leadership in that it should prepare its teams for the proposed changes (project). The final challenge is likely to occur when the Action Research Project is in progress. This would be the case if the project is announced and expectations are made yet no monitoring or evaluation occurs. In short, lack of action-reflection by the leading parties places the project at a risk. Lack of monitoring means there would be no concern regarding the team’s willingness to implement it; neither will there be an overseeing party nor a source of influence to push the implementation. Conclusion In conclusion, barriers do exist in the health and medical community, and have the ability to hinder adoption of the results of an Action Research Project. These barriers are mainly from within the healthcare setting and can be addressed during drafting of the project. By carefully forecasting the project, barriers can be predicted and addressed lest they hinder the effectiveness of the project. A potential barrier would be shooting down of a suggested Action Research Project by the expected participants in the event that they are insufficiently informed about it. To resolve such an issue, the implementers should ensure that the participants are well informed regarding the project. This would not only earn the go-ahead, but also provide enough support for it. In that case, the Action Research Project stands more chances of succeeding and enhancing effectiveness. References Caldwell, D., Chatman, J., O’Reilly, C., Ormiston, M. & Lapiz, M. (2008). “Implementing Strategic Change in a Health Care System: The Importance of Leadership and Change Readiness”. HealthCare Management Review. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Dewar, B. & Mackay, R. (2010, Sept 22). “Appreciating and Developing Compassionate Care in an Acute Hospital Setting Caring for Older People”. International Journal of Older People Nursing. 299-309. Pryor, M., Taneja, S., Humphreys, J., Anderson, D. & Singleton, L. (2008). “Challenges Facing Change Management Theories and Research”. Delhi Business Review, (9), 1. Raynolds, J. & Chatfield, R. (2007). Leadership the Outward Bound way: Becoming a better leader in the workplace, in the wilderness, and in your community. Seattle: Mountaineers Books. Read More