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Prosocial voice in the hierarchy of healthcare professionals : the role of emotions after harmful patient safety incidents
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Richmond, John G. and Burgess, Nicola (2023) Prosocial voice in the hierarchy of healthcare professionals : the role of emotions after harmful patient safety incidents. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 37 (3). pp. 327-342. doi:10.1108/JHOM-01-2022-0027 ISSN 1477-7266.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-01-2022-0027
Abstract
Purpose:
Supporting and nurturing effective communication between healthcare professionals is vital to protect patients from harm. However, not all forms of employee voice are effective. Fear can lead to defensive voice, while the role of other emotions to drive voice behaviour is less well understood. This paper aims to understand what role the broader range of emotions, including compassion and shame, experienced by healthcare professionals following patient safety incidents (PSI) play in the subsequent enactment of prosocial voice, a positive and other-oriented form of communication.
Design/methodology/approach:
This study is based on data from a single English NHS hospital: interviews with healthcare professionals involved in PSIs (N = 40), observations at quality and risk committees and meetings (N = 26 h) and review of investigative documents (N = 33). Three recent PSIs were selected for cross-case analysis based upon organisational theory related to professional hierarchy, employee voice and literature on emotions.
Findings:
Among three cases, the authors found variance in context, emotional experience and voice behaviour. Where professionals feared blame and repercussion, voice was defensive. Meanwhile where they experienced shame and compassion, prosocial voice was enacted to protect patients.
Practical implications:
Healthcare organisations seeking to foster prosocial voice should: (1) be more considerate of professionals' emotional experiences post-PSI and ensure adequate support for recovery (2) establish norms for professionals to share their struggles with others (3) reward professionals who demonstrate caring behaviour (4) buffer professionals from workplace pressures.
Originality/value:
The authors’ study highlights how emotional experiences, such as shame and compassion, can mediate blame and defensiveness and lead to the enactment of prosocial voice in the professional hierarchy.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HF Commerce R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Operations Management Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Hospitals -- Personnel management, Health facilities -- Personnel management, Medical personnel and patient, Communication in personnel management, Supervision of employees | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Health Organization and Management | ||||||||
Publisher: | Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1477-7266 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 17 May 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 37 | ||||||||
Number: | 3 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 327-342 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1108/JHOM-01-2022-0027 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | © Emerald Publishing Limited. This AAM is provided for your own personal use only. It may not be used for resale, reprinting, systematic distribution, emailing, or for any other commercial purpose without the permission of the publisher. | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 6 March 2023 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 6 March 2023 |
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