Methodological procedure based on quantitizing/liquefying: a case study to assess work climate in an emergency...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Organizational Psychology
• Mixed Methods Research

Background:

• Current health organization assessments primarily use results-based indicators, neglecting crucial internal work dynamics.
• This oversight limits the information available for effective organizational improvement strategies.
• A need exists for methods that capture the nuances of organizational functioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a rigorous mixed-methods procedure for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data on organizational implementation processes.
• To address the limitations of results-based indicators by incorporating internal work dynamics.
• To provide a practical framework for assessing and improving organizational functioning.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative in-depth interview was conducted with a volunteer doctor from a hospital emergency department.
• Qualitative data were systematized, liquefied, and quantitized into a code matrix, with quality controlled using Cohen's kappa (κ).
• Quantitative polar coordinate analysis using HOISAN software vectorized relationships between codes, identifying statistically significant behaviors.

Main Results:

• The method was applied to assess team needs and work climate in a hospital emergency department.
• Data quality control yielded an adequate Cohen's kappa (κ = 0.82).
• Statistically significant prospective and retrospective behavioral activation and inhibition were identified, demonstrating the method's ability to reveal group dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The study presents an adequate method for obtaining detailed information on group dynamics through in-depth interviews.
• The mixed-methods approach effectively integrates qualitative insights with quantitative analysis for robust organizational assessment.
• Practical applications are highlighted for implementing improvements in organizational functioning.