Morphogenesis and Morphostasis: What forms and maintains the safety norm?
(2021) FLMU16 20211Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- Progress in patient safety in healthcare has been frustratingly slow despite 20 years of intense effort. Recent literature suggests that current approaches inadequately address the complexity of healthcare, possibly explaining this lack of progress. What then sustains the current safety norm, sustaining a mismatched safety model in the face of challenge?
This research project explores this issue using interviews of healthcare safety practitioners in two New Zealand hospitals using semi-structured interviews. The critical-realist morphogenetic model of Archer was used to understand how the emergent structural, cultural, and agentic relations within the system create and maintain tendencies for action by agents within the healthcare... (More) - Progress in patient safety in healthcare has been frustratingly slow despite 20 years of intense effort. Recent literature suggests that current approaches inadequately address the complexity of healthcare, possibly explaining this lack of progress. What then sustains the current safety norm, sustaining a mismatched safety model in the face of challenge?
This research project explores this issue using interviews of healthcare safety practitioners in two New Zealand hospitals using semi-structured interviews. The critical-realist morphogenetic model of Archer was used to understand how the emergent structural, cultural, and agentic relations within the system create and maintain tendencies for action by agents within the healthcare system. This analysis helps to explore why attention is directed to certain approaches and solutions in safety work, while also highlighting what is left unexamined by current approaches.
This practical example of a critical-realism informed methodology demonstrates the potential this approach has for safety science. From this research, it can be argued that this philosophy of science is well suited to examining issues such as the impacts of context, complexity, and emergence, as well as the role that individual agency has in creating safety. As such, it offers a potentially powerful new lens on the sociology of safety. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9062288
- author
- Horsley, Carl LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- FLMU16 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Safety science, healthcare, sociology, FLMU06
- language
- English
- id
- 9062288
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-11 10:34:27
- date last changed
- 2021-08-11 10:34:27
@misc{9062288, abstract = {{Progress in patient safety in healthcare has been frustratingly slow despite 20 years of intense effort. Recent literature suggests that current approaches inadequately address the complexity of healthcare, possibly explaining this lack of progress. What then sustains the current safety norm, sustaining a mismatched safety model in the face of challenge? This research project explores this issue using interviews of healthcare safety practitioners in two New Zealand hospitals using semi-structured interviews. The critical-realist morphogenetic model of Archer was used to understand how the emergent structural, cultural, and agentic relations within the system create and maintain tendencies for action by agents within the healthcare system. This analysis helps to explore why attention is directed to certain approaches and solutions in safety work, while also highlighting what is left unexamined by current approaches. This practical example of a critical-realism informed methodology demonstrates the potential this approach has for safety science. From this research, it can be argued that this philosophy of science is well suited to examining issues such as the impacts of context, complexity, and emergence, as well as the role that individual agency has in creating safety. As such, it offers a potentially powerful new lens on the sociology of safety.}}, author = {{Horsley, Carl}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Morphogenesis and Morphostasis: What forms and maintains the safety norm?}}, year = {{2021}}, }