Collaborative Work Development as a Resource for Innovation and Quality Improvement in Health Care: An Example from a Hospital Surgery

Abstract

This chapter deals with collaborative work development targeted to improve innovativeness and quality in health care. The study unravels contradictions and their solutions within a work development intervention held by medical practitioners, their management and researchers. The framework of the study is activity theory, which views contradictions as drivers for learning and change. During the intervention, the participants co-created and implemented a new activity and management model in a surgical unit. This required breaking organizational boundaries and collectively analyzing historically accumulated contradictions. As a consequence, the unit overcame a near crisis and both significantly increased its efficiency and quality of care and strengthened its community. The study increases our knowledge on innovation creation and the successful management of contradictions to improve quality in health care.