Duvald Iben, Obel Børge, Lohse Cecilie, Kirkegaard Hans, Burton Richard M
Interdisciplinary Center for Organizational Architecture (ICOA), Department of Management, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210, Aarhus V, Denmark; Emergency Department, Viborg Regional Hospital, Regional Hospital Central Jutland, Heibergs Alle 5, 8800, Viborg, Denmark.
Interdisciplinary Center for Organizational Architecture (ICOA), Department of Management, Aarhus University, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210, Aarhus V, Denmark.
Soc Sci Med. 2025 Feb;366:117728. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117728. Epub 2025 Jan 20.
The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for healthcare professionals and the provision of hospital care, leading to immense stress and rapidly changing conditions. Hospitals had to constantly adapt their organizational structures and strategies to manage the crisis. This study examines the organizational responses of Danish emergency hospitals during the first COVID-19 surge, focusing on resilience in anticipation, coping, and learning. We conducted a study involving interviews with healthcare professionals and managers from the five emergency hospitals in the Central Denmark Region. The interview guides were based on multi-contingency theory for organizational design, with open-ended discussions to compare key organizational components across hospitals. Topics covered included hospital configuration, task design, resources, information systems, leadership, and coordination during the first surge. Interviews were cross-validated with administrative documents. Results showed that hospitals responded differently to national and regional directives, continuously adjusting their governance structures and strategies to meet the demands for new procedures and information sharing. The ability to introduce, learn from, and adapt organizational changes as the pandemic unfolded was crucial to building resilience. This study provides insights into organizational resilience in healthcare and highlights practical lessons for managing future crises.
新冠疫情给医护人员和医院护理工作带来了巨大挑战，导致巨大压力和情况迅速变化。医院不得不不断调整其组织结构和策略来应对危机。本研究考察丹麦急诊医院在新冠疫情首次激增期间的组织应对措施，重点关注预期、应对和学习方面的恢复力。我们开展了一项研究，对丹麦中部地区五家急诊医院的医护人员和管理人员进行了访谈。访谈指南基于组织设计的多权变理论，通过开放式讨论来比较各医院的关键组织要素。涵盖的主题包括首次激增期间的医院配置、任务设计、资源、信息系统、领导和协调。访谈与行政文件进行了交叉验证。结果表明，各医院对国家和地区指令的反应不同，不断调整其治理结构和策略以满足新程序和信息共享的需求。随着疫情发展引入、借鉴和适应组织变革的能力对于建立恢复力至关重要。本研究为医疗保健领域的组织恢复力提供了见解，并突出了应对未来危机的实用经验教训。
