Abstract
Background
Organizational health literacy responsiveness is the degree to which health care organizations support their patients’ health literacy needs e.g., by making physical or digital navigation and access easier or by making written information easier to understand. Organizational health literacy responsiveness has been sparsely explored in maternity care.
Aim
To explore health professionals’ perspectives on organizational health literacy responsiveness in Danish maternity care, underpinned by the seven areas described in the Organizational Health Literacy Responsiveness framework.
Methods
A qualitative study using a deductive approach and thematic content analysis. We conducted thirteen semi-structured interviews with health professionals working in maternity care.
Results
Several factors were identified that strengthens responsiveness. These include managers that adapt to local context and balance political influence, a holistic and person-centred culture for care, effective program planning and successful internal interdisciplinary collaboration, beneficial partnerships across sectors, and organizational structures and strategies to support responsiveness related to communication, accessibility, and navigation. However, stigmatization within the organizational culture presents a barrier to delivering holistic and person-centred care, health professionals lack support and strategies to respond to pregnant women with resistance towards services and non-attenders, information overload by health professionals increases misunderstandings, and different digital communication preferences between health professionals and pregnant women affected by organizational structures were potential barriers to responsiveness. Also, external interdisciplinary collaboration presented a challenge. The availability of time, resources, and educational support for staff was different between care programs to increase equitable solutions based on pregnant women’s different needs, but health professionals struggle to balance the differentiation.
Conclusion
This study highlights the complexity in the organization of maternity care, including several factors that strengthen or limit organizational responsiveness. There is a need to approach and accommodate the experienced barriers that prevent personalized and equitable care by increasing the organizational support for responsiveness.
Organizational health literacy responsiveness is the degree to which health care organizations support their patients’ health literacy needs e.g., by making physical or digital navigation and access easier or by making written information easier to understand. Organizational health literacy responsiveness has been sparsely explored in maternity care.
Aim
To explore health professionals’ perspectives on organizational health literacy responsiveness in Danish maternity care, underpinned by the seven areas described in the Organizational Health Literacy Responsiveness framework.
Methods
A qualitative study using a deductive approach and thematic content analysis. We conducted thirteen semi-structured interviews with health professionals working in maternity care.
Results
Several factors were identified that strengthens responsiveness. These include managers that adapt to local context and balance political influence, a holistic and person-centred culture for care, effective program planning and successful internal interdisciplinary collaboration, beneficial partnerships across sectors, and organizational structures and strategies to support responsiveness related to communication, accessibility, and navigation. However, stigmatization within the organizational culture presents a barrier to delivering holistic and person-centred care, health professionals lack support and strategies to respond to pregnant women with resistance towards services and non-attenders, information overload by health professionals increases misunderstandings, and different digital communication preferences between health professionals and pregnant women affected by organizational structures were potential barriers to responsiveness. Also, external interdisciplinary collaboration presented a challenge. The availability of time, resources, and educational support for staff was different between care programs to increase equitable solutions based on pregnant women’s different needs, but health professionals struggle to balance the differentiation.
Conclusion
This study highlights the complexity in the organization of maternity care, including several factors that strengthen or limit organizational responsiveness. There is a need to approach and accommodate the experienced barriers that prevent personalized and equitable care by increasing the organizational support for responsiveness.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2257129 |
| Journal | Health Literacy and Communication Open |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| ISSN | 2835-5245 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Sept 2023 |