Facilitating Change in Health Organizations

Abstract

Purpose: Significant time and effort are needed to facilitate organizational change; thus a well-constructed conceptual model may help health professionals identify and overcome the barriers impeding this process.Design / methodology / approach:Currently, there is no single framework for organizational change that has gained widespread acceptance. However, two well-validated organizational models are the Prochaska and DiClemente transtheoretical model and Green et al. al.’s health promotion model. In this paper we synthesize these models in the context of organizational change for a physician audience. Findings: We created a new model of organizational change that keeps the best elements of both the Prochaska and DiClemente transtheoretical model and Green et al. al.’s health promotion model. Furthermore, an example is illustrated using this approach.Originality / value: Most health organizations lack a consistent approach to managing change. As a result they have not been as effective in this area as they could be. Most previous organization change theorists have attempted to solve this dilemma by constructing new models of organizational change, which they hope will eventually become the dominant model. Our approach is original in that we have incorporated the best features of two pre-existing models. The value of this approach is that improving these existing models has a much greater potential for widespread acceptance than developing yet another new model.