A win-win for health care: promoting co-leadership and increasing women’s representation at the top

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the growing body of research on health-care leadership by demonstrating the value of dyads and triads in strengthening capabilities of health-care settings and providing action pathways to accelerate gender parity in senior health-care positions. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the evidence that when single-leadership models are used and women are under-represented in leadership, the health-care industry may miss out on opportunities to increase efficiency and quality of care. Next, the paper describes a co-leadership model with distinct and overlapping roles, which promotes women’s participation and inspires administrative and clinical leaders to collaborate and achieve optimal performance. Findings The dyad as the enabling track for women in health-care leadership creates opportunities for health-care systems to bridge the gender gap in senior positions as well as improve the delivery of cost-effective quality care. Practical implications The inclusive co-leadership model with distinct and overlapping roles is a promising pathway for increasing health-care system efficiency and for promoting women to senior roles by tapping into the leadership skills and expertise that women bring to these roles. Originality/value The current paper demonstrates the dual effects of using co-leadership in senior health-care positions and fixing the gender imbalance. It has significant implications for advancing similar pathways in other industries as a means for accelerating gender parity in senior management.

Competencies required by senior health executives in New South Wales, 1990 - 1999

It is accepted that health care reforms and restructuring lead to the change of the tasks and competencies required by senior health care managers. This paper examined the major tasks that senior health executives performed and the most essential competencies required in the NSW public health sector in the 1990s following the introduction of major structural reforms. Diverse changes, restructuring and reforms introduced and implemented in different health care sectors led to changes in the tasks performed by health care managers, and consequently changes in the competencies required. What is known about the topic?The literature confirms that health reform affects senior health care managers’ acquisition and demonstration of new skills and knowledge to meet new job demands. What does this paper add?This paper provides a detailed description of the competencies required for senior health care managers in New South Wales in the 1990s after the introduction of the area health management model, the senior executive service and performance agreements. It confirms that restructuring and reform in the health care sector will lead to changes of the tasks performed by health care managers and, consequently, changes in the competencies required. What are the implications for practitioners?The competencies required by health care managers are affected by distinct management levels, diverse health care sectors and different contexts in which health care systems operate. The competencies identified for senior health executives in this study could guide educational programs for senior health managers in the future.

Discriminating Customers, Responsible Patients, Empowered Users: Consumerism and the Modernisation of Health Care

The centrality of patient choice in the recent political rhetoric of both New Labour and the Conservative Party has prompted a renewed interest in the shift towards a more consumerist conception of health care in the UK. Accordingly, this article reports on early findings from a project in the ESRC/AHRB Cultures of Consumption Programme, exploring how the ‘consumer’ is constituted in narratives of health reform, and the ways in which policy documents present a particular image of the consumer as a rationale for institutional and cultural change. The article then goes on to look at the ways in which service delivery organisations have responded to New Labour's consumerist imperative. Drawing upon a series of interviews with senior health care managers in two case study locations, the article highlights ways in which choice, responsibility and empowerment have become critical points at which a consumerist orientation is articulated with established professional cultures, and how health organisations have experienced – and attempted to resolve – the tensions that result.

Changing Society Perceptions of Health Needs for Non-Metropolitan Seniors and Baby Boomers in Retirement

The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of seniors of their current health needs and to compare them with baby boomers’ perceptions future health needs as they begin entering the senior age bracket in 2011. The focus groups were comprised of male and female seniors or baby boomer participants. The focus group sessions were conducted to collect data concerning perceptions of seniors and baby boomers preference for nomenclature and senior health care needs in retirement. The sessions were transcribed by the court reporters, the moderator, and the non-verbal information recorded by trained observers. The ten, approximately 60-minute sessions were audiotape recorded. The transcriptions were analyzed using content analysis. Key findings from the study identified the terms of choice for individuals 65 and over were “seniors/senior citizens” with “mature” and “elderly” also commonly suggested. Similar findings evolved from the seniors and baby boomers regarding their perceptions for health needs in retirement. Eight themes evolved with numerous sub-categories. The themes included: 1) prescription drug plans, 2) insurance issues, 3) government programs, 4) transportation issues, 5) accessibility of services or doctors, 6) retirement planning, 7) attitudes, and 8) rating one’s health. During the focus group sessions, these themes consistently overlapped concern for health needs in retirement. The most important aspect from all session was the theme: attitude. Having a positive attitude about one’s health is what will contribute to staying healthy. Participants recommended eating healthy, exercising, abstaining from smoking, and reducing stress were important considerations for preparing and living a healthy retirement.