A Qualitative Study of Improvement and Knowledge Transfer in Norwegian Public Hospitals

Abstract

The Norwegian health care system is in rapid transformation. Changes in demography and lifestyle impose new challenges, and advances in technology and research have made more diagnoses and conditions treatable. Simultaneously the population continue to demand even higher quality and faster treatment from the public health care service.

This study is a contribution to the understanding of knowledge transfer in Norwegian public hospitals. The problem definition answered by the study is how process-related knowledge is transferred successfully or unsuccessfully between surgical departments in Norwegian public hospitals.

To answer the problem definition, a qualitative study was performed. 45 health care professionals with different backgrounds and educations from several Norwegian public hospitals were interviewed. These had both managerial and non-managerial responsibilities at various hierarchical levels in the organisations.

This study has two main contributions to theory. The first contribution of the study is the deduction of the Knowledge transfer model. The second contribution is the understanding of how the specific properties of the model influence the eventual outcome of the knowledge transfer process.