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Complicated, complex, and compliant: best practice in obstetrics

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Abstract

In this study, the distinction between complicated and complex is used to shed some light on compliance with best practice guidelines. Data were gathered related to obstetric practice in labor wards and operating theaters at two Scandinavian hospitals, one of them being a university hospital, and in a training facility. The complexity of obstetrical intervention is analyzed in this paper, as is the potential of compliance-based routines in obstetrics. Complex situations are different from complicated ones and patient safety management efforts should recognize and enhance the sort of diversity that helps the emergence of resilience in complex situations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Director of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University, Mt. Gravatt, QLD, 4122, Australia

    Sidney Dekker

  2. Lund University Centre for Risk Assessment and Management, P.O. Box 118, SE-22100, Lund, Sweden

    Johan Bergström

  3. Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Institute, SE-17176, Stockholm, Sweden

    Isis Amer-Wåhlin

  4. Centre for Studies in Complexity, Department of Philosophy, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Paul Cilliers

Authors
  1. Sidney Dekker
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  2. Johan Bergström
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  3. Isis Amer-Wåhlin
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  4. Paul Cilliers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Johan Bergström.

Additional information

Paul Cilliers: Deceased on July 31 2011

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Dekker, S., Bergström, J., Amer-Wåhlin, I. et al. Complicated, complex, and compliant: best practice in obstetrics. Cogn Tech Work 15, 189–195 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-011-0211-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-011-0211-6

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