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Leadership and Management in the Health Care System

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences & Services".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2023) | Viewed by 59886

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anna Lewandowska

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Guest Editor

Department of Management, University of Information Technology and Management, 35-225 Rzeszów, Poland
Interests: innovation; entrepreneurship; SME; business process management; sustainability; management; leadership; health care system management; regional development

Dr. Justyna Berniak-Woźny

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Department of Management, University of Information Technology and Management, 35-225 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: leadership; management; health care; health care system management; health care system assessment; innovation; efficiency; business process management; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The health care system plays a special role for both societies and economies. Regardless of the level of development of health systems and the associated expenditure, national and global health systems face a shortage of resources. Although the industry faces a massive wave of investment, innovation and new entrants from the technology, telecom and consumer industries (only 2021 $ 44 billion was raised globally in health innovation - twice as much as 2020) in many countries health systems operate on the border capacity of personnel, processes and infrastructure. In light of the inevitable and necessary changes fueled by digital and green transformation, as well as demographic and legal trends, this poses a serious threat to both citizens' health security and the successful implementation of development plans. Moreover, despite many transformational changes in the health care system, there is limited evidence of the impact of these changes on the health of the population or the productivity and efficiency of health systems. In this special issue, a multi-perspective review of the latest achievements in the field of leadership and management approach in the processes of systemic changes in healthcare is planned, as well as a discussion on the future directions of development in this area. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: leadership in health care systems effectiveness of leaders in the health care system role of the management staff in the health care system leadership style and organizational culture innovations in health care system health care system management patients’ rights and human rights in health sector sustainability of health care systems business process management for health care healthcare and digital transformation

Dr. Anna Lewandowska
Dr. Justyna Berniak-Woźny
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

leadership
management
health care
health care system management
health care system assessment
innovation
efficiency
business process management
sustainability

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 666 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Intelligent Physical Exercise Training at a Danish Hospital—A Qualitative Study of Employees’ Barriers and Facilitators for Participation

by Christina Juul Pultz, Thea Mundt Lohse, Just Bendix Justesen, Charlotte Ahlgren Særvoll, Sofie Fønsskov Møller, Birgitte Lindegaard, Thea K. Fischer, Tina Dalager and Stig Molsted

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(22), 7085; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20227085 - 20 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1495

Abstract

Background: Exercise training at work has the potential to improve employees’ productivity, health, and well-being. However, exercise interventions for healthcare workers in hospitals may be challenged by time pressure and the ongoing workflow with patient care. Objective: The aim was to identify barriers and facilitators for participation in exercise training during work in a hospital department. Methods: Eight semi-structured interviews of 13 individuals were conducted with hospital employees from different staff groups who participated in 12 weeks of exercise twice weekly. The data analysis was a thematic approach based on the Theoretical Domains Framework and the COM-B factors in the Behavior Change Wheel. Results: Barriers and facilitators varied between different groups. Barriers included limited structure, busyness, and a discouraging culture. Facilitators included gaining a feeling of community and psychological and physical well-being. Seven contextual subthemes were vital for successful implementation of exercise in a hospital setting: sharing of knowledge and information; involvement; administration and structure; culture; individualization; purpose and objective; and incentives. Conclusions: The informants appreciated exercise training during work. Inpatient departments’ informants found it difficult to participate in the intervention, whilst those with more administrative tasks found it easier. This study identified barriers and facilitators vital for a successful implementation of an exercise training intervention in a hospital department. The study explains how future interventions can improve reach, adoption, and implementation of exercise training interventions to hospital staffs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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18 pages, 2135 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19 and Public Health Spending; Effects on the Economic Sustainability of the Spanish Private Healthcare System

by María del Carmen Valls Martínez, José Manuel Santos-Jaén, Rafael Félix Valls-Úbeda and Rafael Soriano Román

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1585; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021585 - 15 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1793

Abstract

This research analyzes the influence of COVID-19 and public health spending policies on the economic sustainability of Spanish private hospitals. Moreover, it explores the relationship between public health spending policies and the spread of COVID-19 in Spain. Private health care is an understudied sector, yet it is fundamental to the health of citizens. Moreover, the economic causes linked to the spread of the pandemic have not yet been clearly established. Therefore, this work covers a gap in the literature. Private hospital profitability was analyzed by applying ordinary least squares and panel data regressions on financial and macroeconomic data for the period 2017–2020. The spread of COVID-19 was examined by means of cluster and component analysis. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the economic sustainability of Spanish private hospitals, which was also influenced by public health spending. In turn, the spread of the pandemic was mainly related to population density, but was also influenced by public health spending and the gross domestic product of the region. Therefore, policymakers must consider that it is essential to make adequate investments in the healthcare system to cope with pandemics such as COVID-19. In addition, managers can see how corporate social responsibility is a valuable strategy for maintaining hospital profitability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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23 pages, 2071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Directions of Changes in the Profession of Hospital Pharmacist in Poland

by Marcin Bochniarz, Elżbieta Inglot-Brzęk, Anna Lewandowska and Joanna Podgórska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14522; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114522 - 5 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1536

Abstract

The Act on the Pharmacist Profession, adopted on 10 December 2020, is a breakthrough for the entire community of pharmacists in Poland. Due to the scope of the changes introduced in the Act, the question is whether pharmacists in Poland are suitably prepared for pharmaceutical care and clinical pharmacy services. The main aim of the study is to assess the readiness of hospital pharmacists to introduce changes in the way the profession functions. The result of the study is the presentation of the concept of a new model of pharmacist functioning in healthcare entities and the indication of actions necessary to carry out such a change. The questionnaire was addressed to all hospital pharmacists in Poland. Two hundred and seventy-seven hospital pharmacists were included in the research. The analysis of the data revealed that almost all (96.1%) respondents indicated the need to introduce changes to the model of functioning of pharmacists in medical entities. Two-thirds of pharmacists declared readiness to start work to introduce changes. Hospital pharmacists recognize the importance of clinical pharmacy in their current practice; however, the biggest barrier is the lack of financing, an insufficient number of staff, a lack of knowledge and skills, and a lack of tools to use the service. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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13 pages, 700 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Mindful Leadership on Employee Innovative Behavior: Evidence from the Healthcare Sectors in China

by Min Zheng, Zhenting Xu and Yiying Qu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912263 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1740

Abstract

In the health care system, it is increasingly apparent that employee innovative behavior improves the core competitiveness and resilience of organizations. Previous research has identified leadership behavior as a key predictor of employee innovative behavior. Following this logic and by integrating social information processing theory with existing research conclusions, we constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the mechanism by which mindful leadership influences employee innovative behavior. An empirical analysis of 361 questionnaires that were completed by employees from the healthcare sector in China shows that mindful leadership is positively and significantly correlated with employee innovative behavior. Creative process engagement was found to play a mediating role in this relationship. Moreover, creative self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between mindful leadership and creative process engagement and moderated the mediating effect of creative process engagement on the relationship between mindful leadership and employee innovative behavior. That is, compared with employees with lower creative self-efficacy, employees with higher creative self-efficacy experienced a stronger indirect effect of mindful leadership on their innovative behavior. This study enriches the theoretical research on mindful leadership, clarifies the mechanism and boundary conditions of the effect of mindful leadership on employee innovative behavior, and provides theoretical support for organizational activities that stimulate and guide employee innovative behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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23 pages, 790 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Managing Hospital Employees’ Burnout through Transformational Leadership: The Role of Resilience, Role Clarity, and Intrinsic Motivation

by Jinyong Chen, Wafa Ghardallou, Ubaldo Comite, Naveed Ahmad, Hyungseo Bobby Ryu, Antonio Ariza-Montes and Heesup Han

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10941; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710941 - 1 Sep 2022

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 7522

Abstract

Medical errors have been identified as one of the greatest evils in the field of healthcare, causing millions of patient deaths around the globe each year, especially in developing and poor countries. Globally, the social, economic, and personal impact of medical errors leads to a multi-trillion USD loss. Undoubtedly, medical errors are serious public health concerns in modern times, which could be mitigated by taking corrective measures. Different factors contribute to an increase in medical errors, including employees’ risk of burnout. Indeed, it was observed that hospital employees are more exposed to burnout situations compared to other fields. In this respect, managing hospital employees through transformational leadership (TL) may reduce the risk of burnout. However, surprisingly, studies on the relationship between TL and burnout are scarce in a healthcare system, indicating the existence of a critical knowledge gap. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the role of TL in reducing the risk of burnout among hospital employees. At the same time, this study also tests the mediating effects of resilience and role clarity with the conditional indirect effect of intrinsic motivation in the above-proposed relationship. To test different hypotheses, a hypothetical model was developed for which we collected the data from different hospital employees (n = 398). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was considered for statistical validation of hypotheses confirming that TL significantly reduces burnout. The results further indicated that resilience and role clarity mediate this relationship significantly. Lastly, the conditional indirect effect of intrinsic motivation was also confirmed. Our results provide meaningful insights to the hospital administrators to combat burnout, a critical reason for medical errors in hospitals. Further, by incorporating the TL framework, a hospital may reduce the risk of burnout (and, hence, medical errors); on the one hand, such a leadership style also provides cost benefits (reduced medical errors improve cost efficiency). Other different theoretical and practical contributions are discussed in detail. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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17 pages, 543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Leader Conscientiousness and Ethical Leadership on Employee Turnover Intention: The Mediating Role of Individual Ethical Climate and Emotional Exhaustion

by Tajneen Affnaan Saleh, Abdullah Sarwar, Md. Amirul Islam, Muhammad Mohiuddin and Zhan Su

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 8959; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158959 - 23 Jul 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4235

Abstract

Employees working under conscientious leadership perceive their leaders as ethical leaders. This study investigates the conscientiousness of leaders as an essential trait of ethical leadership and the relationship between ethical leadership and employee-turnover intention. Additionally, we study the potential mediating roles of the individual-level ethical climate (self-interest, friendship, and personal morality) as well as the level of employees’ emotional exhaustion that contribute to the decision-making process of turnover intention. Building on social learning and social exchange theories, outcomes from nine industrial manufacturing organizations comprising 260 subordinates’ responses show that leaders’ conscientiousness is positively related to ethical leadership and negatively associated with employees’ turnover intention. Consistent with this hypotheses, results found that, in an individual-level ethical climate, employees experience diminished emotional exhaustion. The relationships are found to mediate between ethical leadership and turnover intention in manufacturing organizations. Additionally, it was also found that individual-level ethical climates cause a relatively positive impact on employees’ emotional exhaustion leading them to lower turnover intention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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20 pages, 701 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Proposing a Robust Model to Reduce Employees’ Turnover Intentions in an Ethical Leadership Framework: Empirical Evidence from the Healthcare Sector

by Qiangzhen Jian, Xiuting Wang, Hisham Mohammad Al-Smadi, Aamer Waheed, Alina Badulescu and Sarminah Samad

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 8939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158939 - 22 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3598

Abstract

Employee turnover is expensive and disruptive for an organization. Studies have already mentioned that the economic cost of turnover is huge, ranging from 90% to 200% of the existing employee’s salary. With an increase in turnover rate, the social fabric of an enterprise may be disrupted. Additionally, organizations with an increasing turnover are expected to lose intangible knowledge and skills, operational effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and product or service quality. In a healthcare context, an increasing turnover rate has more consequences than other sectors because the healthcare sector worldwide is already identified as a sector facing resource scarcity. Exacerbating the situation, current evidence suggests that employee turnover has been increasing globally in the healthcare sector. The literature suggests that an ethical leadership style may reduce employees’ likelihood of quitting an organization. However, such literature is sparse in healthcare, especially from the perspective of a developing economy in the Global South, which is more resource-deficient than the Global North. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigates the relationship between ethical leadership style and turnover intentions in the healthcare context of the Global South. This study also tests the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation and psychological contract fulfillment in the above-proposed relationship. Furthermore, the conditional indirect effect of resilience is also tested. The data are collected from the hospital employees through a self-administered questionnaire. The hypothesized relationships are tested through structural equation modeling. The empirical evidence indicates that ethical leadership reduces employees’ turnover intentions significantly. The results further confirm the mediating and moderating effects of intrinsic motivation, psychological contract fulfillment, and resilience. These results have different theoretical and practical implications for the healthcare sector. The results especially highlight the role of ethical leaders in a hospital to deal with the challenge of turnover, which has been rising worldwide. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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17 pages, 2432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strategic Management in Healthcare: A Call for Long-Term and Systems-Thinking in an Uncertain System

by Claudia Huebner and Steffen Flessa

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8617; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148617 - 15 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6096

Abstract

Strategic management is becoming increasingly important for sustainable management in healthcare. The reasons for this can be seen in the increasing complexity, dynamics and uncertainty of the system’s regimes and the resulting need for strategic thinking in a long-term period. The scientific discussion of this issue is the aim of the present analytical framework. The starting point is the definition of the term strategic management itself, followed by a reflection on the requirements resulting from the changes in the political, social and economic value systems of our post-industrial society. In this context, Dynaxity Zone III is used to explain the long-term perspective, the high levels of complexity and uncertainty and the responsibility of strategic management as important parameters. For a practical illustration, we demonstrate two selected applications (German hospital financing systems and development process of implants) and how the implementation of strategic management in the health care system shows success. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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16 pages, 545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmentally Specific Servant Leadership and Employees’ Energy-Specific Pro-Environmental Behavior: Evidence from Healthcare Sector of a Developing Economy

by Junjie Peng, Sarminah Samad, Ubaldo Comite, Naveed Ahmad, Heesup Han, Antonio Ariza-Montes and Alejandro Vega-Muñoz

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7641; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137641 - 22 Jun 2022

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3988

Abstract

Environmental issues are significantly rising worldwide. Addressing the environmental issues and preserving the biosphere is a critical matter of concern in this era. The sheer amount of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world is related to the energy sector, especially electrical energy. A bulk of electrical energy is consumed by individuals in buildings for cooling and heating purposes. Prior researchers have emphasized employing clean and green energy sources to deal with environmental issues. The role of green energy from a decarbonization aspect is unchallengeable. However, a critical gap in most energy-related studies exists in the available literature. That is, most of the literature focuses on the supply side (the production) of energy, neglecting the critical issue lies with the demand side (consumption side). Energy data show that a sheer amount of electrical energy is wasted by individuals due to their inadequate energy consumption behavior. In this respect, a country’s healthcare system uses a significant amount of electrical energy. In particular, hospital staff uses a bulk of electricity during patient treatment, care, and other service delivery operations. The critical aim of this study is to improve the energy-specific pro-environmental behavior (EPEB) of hospital employees in an environmentally specific servant leadership (ESL) framework. Specifically, the study was conducted in Pakistan, which is a developing country. This study also tests the mediating effect of green self-efficacy (GSE) and green perceived organizational support (GPOS) in the above-proposed relationship. The data for the current work were collected from hospital employees by employing a survey strategy (n = 316) from a developing country. Structural equation modeling was considered to analyze the data, which confirmed that a servant leader with environmental preferences could significantly drive the EPEB of employees (β = 0.699), while GSE (β = 0.138) and GPOS (β = 0.102) mediated this relationship. The findings of this study can help the healthcare sector to improve its efforts toward de-carbonization by improving the energy consumption behavior of employees through ESL, GSE, and GPOS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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13 pages, 1865 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agile Leadership and Perceived Career Success: The Mediating Role of Job Embeddedness

by Bulent Akkaya, Mirela Panait, Simona Andreea Apostu and Yesim Kaya

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4834; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084834 - 15 Apr 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4016

Abstract

Agile leadership is an important managerial function in which responsiveness and innovation appear to be essential elements for the long-term development and success of any business. The world has become increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) during and post COVID-19. Managers are required to possess agile leadership to facilitate their employees’ successful careers. Therefore, this study aims to find out the relationship between agile leadership and career success by examining the mediation of job embeddedness in healthcare organizations. The descriptive research design and survey method were employed in this study. The data were collected by using three scales from healthcare employees in healthcare organizations in Turkey. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were analysed by using SPSS and AMOS programs. The findings of this study showed that agile leadership behaviours enhance career success. Moreover, the relationship between agile leadership and career success is mediated by job embeddedness. The role of agile leadership in promoting employees’ career success has rarely been studied in the literature. This is one of the first studies to examine the effect of agile leadership on career success along with the mediating role of job embeddedness. Healthcare managers have faced many critical challenges at their workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the lens of managing efficient healthcare organizations in many contexts, this research sheds some important light on the association between agile leadership, career success, and job embeddedness. Managers with high agility levels used strategies such as group decision making, problem solving, effective internal and external communication, and adaptation to uncertain environment in order to increase their career success. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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13 pages, 682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Inclusive Leadership Framework to Foster Employee Creativity in the Healthcare Sector: The Role of Psychological Safety and Polychronicity

by Qinghua Fu, Jacob Cherian, Naveed Ahmad, Miklas Scholz, Sarminah Samad and Ubaldo Comite

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4519; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084519 - 8 Apr 2022

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6534

Abstract

Creativity at the level of employees is of utmost importance for every sector of an economy, with no exception to a healthcare system. The reason why employee creativity is important lies in the fact that employees have profound knowledge of their job and thus can serve as a source of meaningful innovation in an organization. Research shows that employee creativity is largely dependent on leadership. Corporate leaders significantly influence subordinates’ behavior. However, with the economic development, globalization, and changing business environment, a traditional authoritative leadership style can no longer be effective in understanding employees’ psychological needs to foster their creative behavior. In this regard, the role of inclusive leadership as an effective organizational management strategy was recently discussed in literature at different levels. It was also stated that an inclusive leader could foster employee creativity. However, such relationships in healthcare systems of developing economies have largely remained under-explored previously. We explored employee creativity in a healthcare context of a developing economy in an inclusive leadership framework to bridge such knowledge gaps. We also investigated the mediating roles of psychological safety and polychronicity in the above-stated relationship. We collected the data from hospital employees through a questionnaire (paper–pencil method). A hypothetical model was developed, which was tested through structural equation modeling in AMOS. Based upon the statistical outcomes, we found that an inclusive leadership style in a hospital can significantly foster employee creativity, whereas psychological safety and polychronicity mediate this relationship. This study offers different theoretical and practical insights, especially to a healthcare system. An important finding was that an inclusive leader can motivate the followers to be more creative. This finding is significant for a hospital because creative employees provide a hospital with a solid competitive base. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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15 pages, 1098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Conceptualizing the Role of Target-Specific Environmental Transformational Leadership between Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro-Environmental Behaviors of Hospital Employees

by Yuwei Deng, Jacob Cherian, Naveed Ahmad, Miklas Scholz and Sarminah Samad

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(6), 3565; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063565 - 17 Mar 2022

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 5105

Abstract

The healthcare sector throughout the world is identified for its outsized carbon footprint. Despite the mounting importance of employees’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) for decarbonization, the role of PEB in a healthcare context was less emphasized previously, especially in a developing country context. To address this knowledge gap, the current work was carried out to examine the relationship between a hospital’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and PEB with the mediating effect of environmental-specific transformational leadership (ESTL). At the same time, the conditional indirect effect of altruistic values (AV) was also considered in the above relationship. The data were collected through a questionnaire by employing a paper-pencil method from the hospital employees (n = 293). By considering the structural equation modeling, the hypothesized relationships were validated. The results indicated that CSR directly (β1 = 0.411) and indirectly, via ESTL, (β4 = 0.194) influenced the PEB of employees. It was also realized that A.V produced a conditional indirect effect in this relationship (β5 = 0.268). This work tends to help a hospital to improve its environmental footprint through CSR and ESTL. Moreover, the current work also highlights the role of employees’ values (e.g., A.V) to guide the environment-specific behavior of employees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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Review

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18 pages, 4136 KiB

Open AccessReview

Towards Green and Sustainable Healthcare: A Literature Review and Research Agenda for Green Leadership in the Healthcare Sector

by Justyna Berniak-Woźny and Małgorzata Rataj

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 908; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20020908 - 4 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4134

Abstract

The health sector is one of the keys to sustainable development. Although it is directly related to only one Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 3, “Ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being at all ages”), the sector itself, which aims to protect health, is paradoxically at the same time the main emitter of environmental pollutants that have a negative impact on health itself. Therefore, sustainability has become a key priority for health sector organizations, and leadership in this area is essential at all levels. Scientific research plays a particular role here, helping to more clearly define the links between environmental sustainability and the health effects of a polluted environment and climate change as well as indicating the direction of actions needed and disseminating good practices that can help accelerate the adoption of efforts towards climate neutrality and sustainable development of health sector organizations. The aim of this article is to present the current state of the art and future research scenarios in the field of green and sustainable healthcare through a literature review by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to perform a bibliometric analysis of papers published in 2012–2022. The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database is used for this purpose. A total of 144 papers are included for analysis, categorized based on eight fields: author(s), title, year of publication, country, journal, scientific category, and number of citations. Based on the results, themes for future research on green leadership in the healthcare sector are identified and recommended. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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13 pages, 1913 KiB

Open AccessReview

Leadership Effectiveness in Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional and Before–After Studies

by Vincenzo Restivo, Giuseppa Minutolo, Alberto Battaglini, Alberto Carli, Michele Capraro, Maddalena Gaeta, Anna Odone, Cecilia Trucchi, Carlo Favaretti, Francesco Vitale and Alessandra Casuccio

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10995; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710995 - 2 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6610

Abstract

To work efficiently in healthcare organizations and optimize resources, team members should agree with their leader’s decisions critically. However, nowadays, little evidence is available in the literature. This systematic review and meta-analysis has assessed the effectiveness of leadership interventions in improving healthcare outcomes such as performance and guidelines adherence. Overall, the search strategies retrieved 3,155 records, and 21 of them were included in the meta-analysis. Two databases were used for manuscript research: PubMed and Scopus. On 16th December 2019 the researchers searched for articles published in the English language from 2015 to 2019. Considering the study designs, the pooled leadership effectiveness was 14.0% (95%CI 10.0–18.0%) in before–after studies, whereas the correlation coefficient between leadership interventions and healthcare outcomes was 0.22 (95%CI 0.15–0.28) in the cross-sectional studies. The multi-regression analysis in the cross-sectional studies showed a higher leadership effectiveness in South America (β = 0.56; 95%CI 0.13, 0.99), in private hospitals (β = 0.60; 95%CI 0.14, 1.06), and in medical specialty (β = 0.28; 95%CI 0.02, 0.54). These results encourage the improvement of leadership culture to increase performance and guideline adherence in healthcare settings. To reach this purpose, it would be useful to introduce a leadership curriculum following undergraduate medical courses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leadership and Management in the Health Care System)

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