Abstract
Kislov and colleagues draw on multiple qualitative case studies of evidence-based nursing conducted in Sweden, Canada, Australia and the UK to describe the chain of codified knowledge which reflects the institutionalisation of evidence-based practice as organisational “business as usual”. This chain is dominated by performance standards, policies and procedures and locally collected data, i.e. various forms of “evidence by proxy” which are, at best, informed by research only partly or indirectly, but are nevertheless perceived as credible evidence. This chapter reveals dual effects of this codification dynamic on evidence-based practice and highlights the influence of macro-level ideological, historical and technological factors on the composition and circulation of codified knowledge. It concludes by outlining the practical implications of the study for change agency in health-care reform.
The reworked and expanded version of this chapter was published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Society for Public Administration as: Kislov, R., Wilson, P., Cummings, G., Ehrenberg, A., Gifford, W., Kelly, J., Kitson, A., Pettersson, L., Wallin, L., and Harvey, G. (2019). From research evidence to “evidence by proxy”? Organisational enactment of evidence-based health care in four high-income countries. Public Administration Review, 79(5), 684–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13056.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Buchanan, D. A., Addicott, R., Fitzgerald, L., Ferlie, E., & Baeza, J. I. (2007). Nobody in charge: Distributed change agency in healthcare. Human Relations,60(7), 1065–1090.
Chell, E. (2004). Critical incident technique. In C. Cassell & G. Symon (Eds.), Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research (pp. 45–60). London: Sage.
Cooper, A., & Levin, B. (2010). Some Canadian contributions to understanding knowledge mobilisation. Evidence & Policy,6(3), 351–369.
Dopson, S., Fitzgerald, L., Ferlie, E., Gabbay, J., & Locock, L. (2002). No magic targets! Changing clinical practice to become more evidence based. Health Care Management Review,27(3), 35–47.
Dopson, S., Locock, L., Gabbay, J., Ferlie, E., & Fitzgerald, L. (2003). Evidence-based medicine and the implementation gap. Health, 7(3), 311–330.
Fava, G. A. (2017). Evidence-based medicine was bound to fail: A report to Alvan Feinstein. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology,84, 3–7.
Ferlie, E., Dopson, S., Fitzgerald, L., & Locock, L. (2009). Renewing policy to support evidence-based health care. Public Administration,87(4), 837–852.
Ferlie, E., Ledger, J., Dopson, S., Fischer, M. D., Fitzgerald, L., McGivern, G., et al. (2016). The political economy of management knowledge: Management texts in English healthcare organizations. Public Administration,94(1), 185–203.
Ferlie, E., & McGivern, G. (2014). Bringing Anglo-governmentality into public management scholarship: The case of evidence-based medicine in UK health care. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory,24(1), 59–83.
Fitzgerald, L., Ferlie, E., Wood, M., & Hawkins, C. (2002). Interlocking interactions: The diffusion of innovations in health care. Human Relations,55(12), 1429–1449.
Fredriksson, M., Eldh, A. C., Vengberg, S., Dahlström, T., Halford, C., Wallin, L., et al. (2014). Local politico-administrative perspectives on quality improvement based on national registry data in Sweden: A qualitative study using the consolidated framework for implementation research. Implementation Science,9, 189.
Gabbay, J., & le May, A. (2011). Practice-based evidence for healthcare: Clinical mindlines. Oxon: Routledge.
Greenhalgh, T., Howick, J., & Maskrey, N. (2014). Evidence based medicine: A movement in crisis? British Medical Journal,348, g3725.
Harrison, S. (1998). The politics of evidence-based medicine in the United Kingdom. Policy & Politics,26(1), 15–31.
Harvey, G., Gifford, W., Cummings, G., Kelly, J., Kislov, R., Kitson, A., et al. (2019). Mobilising evidence to improve nursing practice: A qualitative study of leadership roles and processes in four countries. International Journal of Nursing Studies,90, 21–30.
Harvey, G., & Kitson, A. (Eds.). (2015). Implementing evidence-based practice in healthcare: A facilitation guide. London: Routledge.
Hasselbladh, H., & Bejerot, E. (2007). Webs of knowledge and circuits of communication: Constructing rationalized agency in Swedish health care. Organization,14(2), 175–200.
Holmes, D., Murray, S. J., Perron, A., & Rail, G. (2006). Deconstructing the evidence-based discourse in health sciences: Truth, power and fascism. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare,4(3), 180–186.
Kislov, R. (2014). Boundary discontinuity in a constellation of interconnected practices. Public Administration,92(2), 307–323.
Kislov, R., Hodgson, D., & Boaden, R. (2016). Professionals as knowledge brokers: The limits of authority in healthcare collaboration. Public Administration,94(2), 472–489.
Kislov, R., Waterman, H., Harvey, G., & Boaden, R. (2014). Rethinking capacity building for knowledge mobilisation: Developing multilevel capabilities in healthcare organisations. Implementation Science,9, 166.
Kislov, R., Wilson, P., Cummings, G., Ehrenberg, A., Gifford, W., Kelly, J., et al. (2019). From research evidence to “evidence by proxy”? Organizational enactment of evidence-based health care in four high-income countries. Public Administration Review, 79(5), 684–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13056.
Knaapen, L. (2013). Being ‘evidence-based’ in the absence of evidence: The management of non-evidence in guideline development. Social Studies of Science,43(5), 681–706.
Lam, A. (2000). Tacit knowledge, organizational learning and societal Institutions: An integrated framework. Organization Studies,21(3), 487–513.
Mackey, A., & Bassendowski, S. (2017). The history of evidence-based practice in nursing education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing,33(1), 51–55.
Nadin, S., & Cassell, C. (2004). Using data matrices. In C. Cassell & G. Symon (Eds.), Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research (pp. 271–287). London: Sage.
Rousseau, D. M., & Gunia, B. C. (2016). Evidence-based practice: The psychology of EBP implementation. Annual Review of Psychology,67, 667–692.
Rycroft-Malone, J., Seers, K., Titchen, A., Harvey, G., Kitson, A., & McCormack, B. (2004). What counts as evidence in evidence-based practice? Journal of Advanced Nursing,47(1), 81–90.
Sackett, D. L., Rosenberg, W. M. C., Gray, J. A. M., Haynes, R. B., & Richardson, W. S. (1996). Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t. British Medical Journal,312(7023), 71–72.
Satterfield, J. M., Spring, B., Brownson, R. C., Mullen, E. J., Newhouse, R. P., Walker, B. B., et al. (2009). Toward a transdisciplinary model of evidence-based practice. Milbank Quarterly,87(2), 368–390.
Timmermans, S., & Kolker, E. S. (2004). Evidence-based medicine and the reconfiguration of medical knowledge. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,45, 177–193.
Turner, S., Higginson, J., Oborne, C. A., Thomas, R. E., Ramsay, A. I. G., & Fulop, N. J. (2014). Codifying knowledge to improve patient safety: A qualitative study of practice-based interventions. Social Science and Medicine,113, 169–176.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kislov, R. et al. (2020). The Chain of Codified Knowledge: Organisational Enactment of Evidence-Based Health Care in Four High-Income Countries. In: Nugus, P., Rodriguez, C., Denis, JL., Chênevert, D. (eds) Transitions and Boundaries in the Coordination and Reform of Health Services. Organizational Behaviour in Healthcare. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26684-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26684-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26683-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26684-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)