title: Coping with health care reform.
abstract: This paper describes the evaluation of a case study of health service reform in southern Adelaide. A mail survey, interviews and focus groups were used to gain an understanding of health care providers' perceptions and experiences of reform. The paper discusses lessons learnt about health service reform and its impact on people working in the health system. It finds that continual change that is not based on a well-articulated vision is likely to lead to 'reform fatigue' and low morale. An action research approach can be used by researchers to help managers and staff understanding the context in which reform is happening, and thus give support to organisational learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Flinders University, South Australia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Eyk
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baum
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Houghton
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009013:Morale; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D013021:South Australia