Accountability in Crises and Public Trust in Governing Institutions

Svedin, Lina

doi:10.4324/9780203120149

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…2012 ). One encouraging exception to this trend, however, is a small but growing body of literature focusing on trust as a lens for examining the way human relations influence and are influenced by health system functioning in LMIC ( Goudge and Gilson 2005 ; Svedin 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres

Topp

Chipukuma

2015

Health Policy Plan.

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Background: Human decisions, actions and relationships that invoke trust are at the core of functional and productive health systems. Although widely studied in high-income settings, comparatively few studies have explored the influence of trust on health system performance in low- and middle-income countries. This study examines how workplace and inter-personal trust impact service quality and responsiveness in primary health services in Zambia.Methods: This multi-case study included four health centres selected for urban, peri-urban and rural characteristics. Case data included provider interviews (60); patient interviews (180); direct observation of facility operations (two weeks/centre) and key informant interviews (14) that were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Case-based thematic analysis incorporated inductive and deductive coding.Results: Findings demonstrated that providers had weak workplace trust influenced by a combination of poor working conditions, perceptions of low pay and experiences of inequitable or inefficient health centre management. Weak trust in health centre managers’ organizational capacity and fairness contributed to resentment amongst many providers and promoted a culture of blame-shifting and one-upmanship that undermined teamwork and enabled disrespectful treatment of patients. Although patients expressed a high degree of trust in health workers’ clinical capacity, repeated experiences of disrespectful or unresponsive care undermined patients’ trust in health workers’ service values and professionalism. Lack of patient–provider trust prompted some patients to circumvent clinic systems in an attempt to secure better or more timely care.Conclusion: Lack of resourcing and poor leadership were key factors leading to providers’ weak workplace trust and contributed to often-poor quality services, driving a perverse cycle of negative patient–provider relations across the four sites. Findings highlight the importance of investing in both structural factors and organizational management to strengthen providers’ trust in their employer(s) and colleagues, as an entry-point for developing both the capacity and a work culture oriented towards respectful and patient-centred care.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres

Topp

Chipukuma

2015

Health Policy Plan.

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“…The analysis is a plausibility probe aimed at facilitating a discussion about the theoretically informed propositions (George & Bennett ; Ragin ). Sweden was selected because although there are a high number of accountability mechanisms and venues available as well as open access to public information (Svedin , 1), crisis accountability and ministerial resignations is an understudied phenomenon in the country. Sweden has a tradition of long‐serving single‐party socialist government and short‐term complex coalition governments, which should reflect differences in dealing with crisis induced resignations, both between single‐party and multiparty governments as well as within similar types of government over time.…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Svedin, , 14) is, according to ‘t Hart (), a potentially delegitimising situation, with critiques requiring responses and triggering defensive routines on behalf of the leaders. Three sources were used to identify 44 crisis events that triggered accountability pressures on a national level: Svedin (); the 2014 case list by CRISMART (http://www.crismart.org); and crises documented by the Swedish Emergency Management Agency, SEMA (http://www.msb.se). The presence of high accountability pressures identified in media and prior research rather than the type of crisis constitute the basis for selection.…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies of ministerial careers in European countries, including Sweden, indicate that ministers resign when they are forced to and not because of formal constitutional accountability mechanisms (Bäck et al. ; Fischer ; Svedin ). Factors both inside and outside the cabinet, such as accountability pressures from external arenas and understanding the context of specific resignations need to be examined (Fischer ; Hansen et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crisis Accountability: Ministerial Resignations in Sweden

Brändström

2015

Scand Pol Stud

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Accountability processes after crisis events sometimes entail harsh criticism from public and political players alike, forcing cabinet ministers to be on top of the political game and sometimes even resign. However, harsh accountability processes are just as likely to leave ministers undamaged. This article combines two existing theories that propose different factors to account for variation in outcomes: ministerial resignations as a consequence of cabinet formation and individual positions; or resignations as a result of blame management strategies involving individual actors within the cabinet and beyond. Ten crisis episodes in Sweden are analysed and compared. The findings suggest that individual political power bases and experience matter to how well blame management strategies can be employed, while the composition of the government gives structural constraints. The dynamic interplay and framing battle between incumbent decision makers, and external arenas and the skill with which individual ministers engage and frame responsibility, play a key role in determining their post-crisis careers.

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“…Crises represent a complex policy problem which often requires agencies to work outside norms. Crisis management has often been seen as a unique area of public policy where the public retains a high degree of expectation that governments will respond to crisis in a timely and efficient manner (Svedin ). Under these situations leaders are required to manage emergency responses and situations without full operational knowledge (Boin et al.…”

Section: Crisis and Disaster Management: When The Unexpected Happensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole of Government: the Solution to Managing Crises?

Carayannopoulos

2016

Aust J Public Adm

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The frequency and severity of natural disasters has placed a clear emphasis on the role of governments in responding to these crises. During the past decade, disaster events have had a significant impact on the relevant communities as well as raising questions regarding the role of government and the bureaucratic coordination of planning and response processes. These events have placed a renewed focus on the ability of governments to plan, prepare, and respond in an effective way to crises. They have also tended to indicate that there remain serious challenges to government coordination and that crises create a unique series of challenges for the public sector. At the heart of understanding how governments respond to crises are notions of bureaucratic coordination. It has been suggested that joined-up or whole of government arrangements may provide an appropriate means in which to approach crisis management. As a result a number of key themes emerge including the nature of crisis management, role of leadership, understanding coordination, impact of organisational culture, and the interactions between individuals and institutions. This paper will consider these issues and provide a review of the relevant literature, to understand the synergies that exist in connected responses to crises.

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Accountability in Crises and Public Trust in Governing Institutions

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres

A qualitative study of the role of workplace and interpersonal trust in shaping service quality and responsiveness in Zambian primary health centres

Crisis Accountability: Ministerial Resignations in Sweden

Whole of Government: the Solution to Managing Crises?

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