gms | German Medical Science

19. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung

Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V.

30.09. - 01.10.2020, digital

Reforming the hospital structure – an analysis of the media’s role in implementing a hospital reform in Denmark

Meeting Abstract

Suche in Medline nach

  • Astrid Eriksen - Berlin Institute of Technology, Health Care Management, Berlin, Deutschland
  • Elke Berger - Berlin Institute of Technology, Health Care Management, Berlin, Deutschland
  • Christoph Reichebner - Berlin Institute of Technology, Health Care Management, Berlin, Deutschland

19. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung (DKVF). sine loco [digital], 30.09.-01.10.2020. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. Doc20dkvf095

doi: 10.3205/20dkvf095, urn:nbn:de:0183-20dkvf0952

Veröffentlicht: 25. September 2020

© 2020 Eriksen et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Gliederung

Text

Background and current state of (inter)national research: The German hospital landscape is characterized by a decentralization of a range of services provided, low levels of specialization and significant overcapacity. This leads to over-, under- and misuse of hospital care, which is not least evidenced by wide variation in quality in the system. In Denmark, since the early 2000s, a continuous restructuring of the hospital landscape has been undertaken. First the public sector was reorganized in a structural reform and afterwards a hospital reform restructured the hospital landscape. Large reforms are subject to a public debate, including in the media. A previous study concluded that the structural reform as a political issue was not the result of a media-driven agenda. This does not mean that the media did not play a role in the implementation of the hospital reform. We want to explore what topics the media focused on and whether important actors used a media strategy.

Research questions and objectives: The above will be investigated with the following question: What was the role of the media in the implementation of the hospital reform in Denmark? The aim of the study is to examine the necessary conditions that would allow to incorporate parts of the Danish reform into German hospital care, and to leverage these for improved patient care.

Methods or hypothesis: The media’s role in implementing the large reform in Denmark will be analysed using two methods: (1) A qualitative content analysis of 17 semi-structured expert interviews with political scientists, journalists, politicians, among others and (2) a quantitative overview and qualitative analysis of the medias reporting of the time leading up to the hospital reform and the reform itself between 1995 and 2010. The analysis will be structured around three clusters:

1.
the different events related to treatment outcome for cancer and heart patients from 2006–2010,
2.
the structural reform from 2002–2006 and
3.
the hospital reform from 2007–2010.

To do so, the database Infomedia, which systematically collects articles from the most important media in Denmark, will be used.

Results: It will be presented whether important players within the reform process (e.g. decision-makers) used a media strategy and if so, these will be described. Regarding the last two clusters, the analysis will evolve around what topics of the reform that the media focused on, including closing of hospitals, quality and specialization.

Discussion: Differences, e.g. with regard to type of media and region will be discussed. Secondly, the data collection approach in Infomedia will be discussed. Thirdly, it will be discussed whether the media landscape in Denmark is comparable to other countries. Finally, basic implementation guidance and alternative courses of action will be presented.

Practical implications: The findings from this analysis can provide important and practical recommendations for the necessary reform of the hospital landscape in Germany, thereby improving hospital care in the long term.