Teamworking in Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study

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Abstract

The widespread impact of COVID-19 on healthcare has demanded new ways of working across many organisation types and many forms of healthcare delivery while at the same time endeavouring to place minimal, or no, additional burden on already strained healthcare teams. This is a cross-sectional mixed-method study which captured the experiences of teamwork during the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to successful collaboration. We hypothesised that work engagement and psychological safety separately contribute to collective leadership and organisational citizenship behaviours. Participants were healthcare staff on active duty during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland (n = 152) who responded to our social media (Twitter) invitation to participate in this study. Survey and free-text responses were collected through an online platform. Structural equation modelling examined the relationships between work engagement and psychological safety, and collective leadership and OCBs. Open text responses relating to experiences of teamworking during the pandemic were analysed for latent themes. From the survey data, the structural model demonstrated excellent statistical fit indicating that psychological safety, but not work engagement, was predictive of collective leadership and OCBs. From the qualitative data, two key themes were generated: (1) Contrasting experiences of working in a team during the pandemic; and (2) The pandemic response: a tipping point for burnout. This study offers a valuable starting point to explore the factors driving change and the shift to more collective ways of working observed in response to COVID-19. Future studies should use longitudinal data to capture the temporal relationship of these variables which could be moderated by prolonged pressure to healthcare staff during the pandemic.

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An introduction to implementation science for the non-specialist

Mark S. Bauer, Laura Damschroder, Hildi Hagedorn … (2015)

Background The movement of evidence-based practices (EBPs) into routine clinical usage is not spontaneous, but requires focused efforts. The field of implementation science has developed to facilitate the spread of EBPs, including both psychosocial and medical interventions for mental and physical health concerns. Discussion The authors aim to introduce implementation science principles to non-specialist investigators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to become familiar with this emerging field. This introduction is based on published literature and the authors’ experience as researchers in the field, as well as extensive service as implementation science grant reviewers. Implementation science is “the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other EBPs into routine practice, and, hence, to improve the quality and effectiveness of health services.” Implementation science is distinct from, but shares characteristics with, both quality improvement and dissemination methods. Implementation studies can be either assess naturalistic variability or measure change in response to planned intervention. Implementation studies typically employ mixed quantitative-qualitative designs, identifying factors that impact uptake across multiple levels, including patient, provider, clinic, facility, organization, and often the broader community and policy environment. Accordingly, implementation science requires a solid grounding in theory and the involvement of trans-disciplinary research teams. Summary The business case for implementation science is clear: As healthcare systems work under increasingly dynamic and resource-constrained conditions, evidence-based strategies are essential in order to ensure that research investments maximize healthcare value and improve public health. Implementation science plays a critical role in supporting these efforts.

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Managing Clinical Knowledge for Health Care Improvement

E.A. Balas, S.A. Boren (2018)

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Implementation science in times of Covid-19

Michel Wensing, Anne Sales, Rebecca Armstrong … (2020)

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 affects all of us and is associated with rapid and massive changes in healthcare and societies. As a response, a range of interventions for patients and populations have been implemented in health and preventive settings, or need to be implemented in the short and long term. Implementation science offers a multidisciplinary perspective and systematic approach for the design, evaluation and analysis of programmes and policies to enhance implementation. The emergence of Covid-19 provides an urgent need to develop new perspectives and approaches in implementation science, such as the addition of innovative and rigorous approaches to the collection, use and analysis of ‘real-world’ data. Above all, we hope that implementation scientists will focus on what they can contribute to manage Covid-19 and its consequences for people, healthcare and society.