Change agents and use of visual management tools in care process redesign : Implications on working conditions for operative managers and healthcare professionals

Abstract: Swedish healthcare has been subject to change efforts to increase efficiency in care processes. In the 2000-2010’s lean production has influenced healthcare with change approaches such as visual management tools to increase patient flows and efficiency. Most previous research on lean healthcare has focused single hospitals or departments as case studies focusing lean production as successful for efficiency, or “mean” production affecting the work environment. Focus in this thesis though is instead on what strategies and approaches hospitals use in their care process redesign and their associations with working conditions and systems performance. This thesis’ overall aim was to assess change strategies and change approaches at strategic and operative levels during care process redesign at hospitals, focusing organization of change agents and use of visual management tools, and its implica-tions for alignment, working conditions and systems performance. Four studies were conducted at five Swedish hospitals, whereof three had lean-inspired change strategies. One qualitative cross-sectional study, one quantitative longitudinal study and two mixed method longitudinal studies are included in the thesis. Data was collected over three years with semi-structured interviews, structured interviews, staff questionnaires, manager questionnaires and photo document-ation. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed with Wilcoxon tests, mixed models of repeated measurements, ANOVA, and linear regression models. Results showed strategies involve operative manag-ers as change drivers, supported by change agent functions. Change agents’ contribution to change depends on e.g. closeness to operative managers due to the change agents place in the healthcare hierarchy, and also clarity regarding roles and responsibilities in change. Change agents with a close collaboration with operative managers, have better preconditions to contribute to alignment between change strategies and change approaches. Hospital care units in the 2010’s tend to use lean-inspired operative change approaches also without working with change strategies based on lean. Operative lean approaches show associations with positive working conditions for healthcare professionals. Visual management tools as change strategy has potential to support collaboration and communication within and between organizational levels and is considered to contribute to systems performance and alignment. Visual management tools as a cognitive job resource for operative managers show associations with e.g. lower burnout and more functioning collaboration as well as daily use among nurses show associations with cognitive, social and emotional benefits, perceived systems performance and buffering mental stress. Change agents and use of visual management tools are considered as contributors for operative managers’ and healthcare professionals’ sustainable work during care process redesign.