A qualitative analysis of leadership styles and the selection of quality improvement in primary care practice
Abstract
In the Practice Change Model, physicians act as key stakeholders, people who have both an investment in the practice and the capacity to influence how the practice performs. This leadership role is critical to the development and change of the practice. Leadership roles and effectiveness are an important factor in quality improvement in primary care practices. The study conducted involved a comparative case study analysis to identify leadership roles and the relationship between leadership roles and the number and type of quality improvement strategies adopted during a Practice Change Model-based intervention study. The research utilized secondary data from four primary care practices with various leadership styles. The practices are located in the San Antonio region and serve a large Hispanic population. The data was collected by two ABC Project Facilitators from each practice during a 12-month period including Key Informant Interviews (all staff members), MAP (Multi-method Assessment Process), and Practice Facilitation field notes. This data was used to evaluate leadership styles, management within the practice, and intervention tools that were implemented. The chief steps will be (1) to analyze if the leader-member relations contribute to the type of quality improvement strategy or strategies selected (2) to investigate if leader-position power contributes to the number of strategies selected and the type of strategy selected (3) and to explore whether the task structure varies across the four primary care practices. The research found that involving more members of the clinic staff in decision-making, building bridges between organizational staff and clinical staff, and task structure are all associated with the direct influence on the number and type of quality improvement strategies implemented in primary care practice. Although this research only investigated leadership styles of four different practices, it will offer future guidance on how to establish the priorities and implementation of quality improvement strategies that will have the greatest impact on patient care improvement.
Subject Area
Public health
Recommended Citation
Quackenbush, Jennifer Suarez, "A qualitative analysis of leadership styles and the selection of quality improvement in primary care practice" (2009). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1462461.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1462461