Using action research to stimulate organisational change within health services: experiences from two community-based studies
Using action research to stimulate organisational change within health services: experiences from two community-based studies
The relevance of action research to organisational change within contemporary health services in the United Kingdom is discussed in this article. Two examples of collaborative community-based studies are presented: one exploring ways to encourage community participation within a health and regeneration programme and the other considering the types of knowledge used within a ‘community of practice’ to develop services for older people. The studies highlight the value of action research in bringing together citizens and health professionals to reflect on practice and to explore ways of improving service delivery. The article concludes that such ‘time-out’ is important in supporting staff to internalise and shape processes of change. Furthermore, the forum which action research provides to bring staff and citizens together to plan, reflect on and evaluate their actions helps not only to develop services but also to challenge some of the traditional organisational processes which have excluded users and citizens.
action research, communities of practice, organisational change, user participation
171-186
Elsey, Helen
6d62e2f3-bfa0-44c1-b22c-ec1f93029829
Lathlean, Judith
98a74375-c265-47d2-b75b-5f0f3e14c1a9
June 2006
Elsey, Helen
6d62e2f3-bfa0-44c1-b22c-ec1f93029829
Lathlean, Judith
98a74375-c265-47d2-b75b-5f0f3e14c1a9
Elsey, Helen and Lathlean, Judith
(2006)
Using action research to stimulate organisational change within health services: experiences from two community-based studies.
Educational Action Research, 14 (2), .
(doi:10.1080/09650790600718019).
Abstract
The relevance of action research to organisational change within contemporary health services in the United Kingdom is discussed in this article. Two examples of collaborative community-based studies are presented: one exploring ways to encourage community participation within a health and regeneration programme and the other considering the types of knowledge used within a ‘community of practice’ to develop services for older people. The studies highlight the value of action research in bringing together citizens and health professionals to reflect on practice and to explore ways of improving service delivery. The article concludes that such ‘time-out’ is important in supporting staff to internalise and shape processes of change. Furthermore, the forum which action research provides to bring staff and citizens together to plan, reflect on and evaluate their actions helps not only to develop services but also to challenge some of the traditional organisational processes which have excluded users and citizens.
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Published date: June 2006
Keywords:
action research, communities of practice, organisational change, user participation
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Local EPrints ID: 38131
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/38131
ISSN: 0965-0792
PURE UUID: a98c587d-8d01-4b4c-a427-a6c70fbe85ca
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Date deposited: 05 Jun 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:03
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Author:
Helen Elsey
Author:
Judith Lathlean
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