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Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals

Background: The objective of this study is to explore the determinants of decision space and to investigate how it functions within a central hospital in South Africa, where policy proposals regarding the decentralization of management authority are being considered in the context of concerns about...

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Main Author: Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
Other Authors: McIntyre, Di
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Health and Family Medicine 2018
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access_status_str Open Access
author Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
author2 McIntyre, Di
author_browse McIntyre, Di
Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
author_facet McIntyre, Di
Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
author_sort Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
collection Thesis
description Background: The objective of this study is to explore the determinants of decision space and to investigate how it functions within a central hospital in South Africa, where policy proposals regarding the decentralization of management authority are being considered in the context of concerns about poor hospital management, and in terms of planned implementation of the National Health Insurance policy. Methods: Using a mixed methods qualitative approach, the case study methodology involved the purposive selection of two central hospitals as case study sites in the South African province of Gauteng. Nested case studies that focused on the human resources and supply chain management departments involved exploratory and explanatory phases that included document review, work shadow with non-participant observation, and in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and generate findings. Results: Emergent outcomes of the interactions between authority, organisational capacity and accountability were identified and contributed to the development of an analytical decision space framework. The framework outlines the way in which decision space influences the allocation of responsibilities, the responsiveness of decision-making and the use of resources within the organisation or system. Recommendations: In the context of national policy changes regarding the decentralisation of hospital management authorities, this framework can be used to understand how decision space functions in other settings, and to guide implementation of interventions for improved management.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:21.255Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
publisherStr Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/27843 Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals Roman, Tamlyn Eslie McIntyre, Di Cleary, Susan Shung King, Maylene Public Health Background: The objective of this study is to explore the determinants of decision space and to investigate how it functions within a central hospital in South Africa, where policy proposals regarding the decentralization of management authority are being considered in the context of concerns about poor hospital management, and in terms of planned implementation of the National Health Insurance policy. Methods: Using a mixed methods qualitative approach, the case study methodology involved the purposive selection of two central hospitals as case study sites in the South African province of Gauteng. Nested case studies that focused on the human resources and supply chain management departments involved exploratory and explanatory phases that included document review, work shadow with non-participant observation, and in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and generate findings. Results: Emergent outcomes of the interactions between authority, organisational capacity and accountability were identified and contributed to the development of an analytical decision space framework. The framework outlines the way in which decision space influences the allocation of responsibilities, the responsiveness of decision-making and the use of resources within the organisation or system. Recommendations: In the context of national policy changes regarding the decentralisation of hospital management authorities, this framework can be used to understand how decision space functions in other settings, and to guide implementation of interventions for improved management. 2018-04-24T13:58:40Z 2018-04-24T13:58:40Z 2018 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27843 eng application/pdf Department of Public Health and Family Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Public Health
Roman, Tamlyn Eslie
Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
title_full Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
title_fullStr Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
title_full_unstemmed Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
title_short Exploring decision space: a case study of two South African central hospitals
title_sort exploring decision space a case study of two south african central hospitals
topic Public Health
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27843
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