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Åhlfeldt, E., Isaksson, D. & Winblad, U. (2023). Factors Explaining Program Sustainability: A Study of the Implementation of a Social Services Program in Sweden. Health & Social Care in the Community, 2023, Article ID 1458305.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Factors Explaining Program Sustainability: A Study of the Implementation of a Social Services Program in Sweden
2023 (English)In: Health & Social Care in the Community, ISSN 0966-0410, E-ISSN 1365-2524, Vol. 2023, article id 1458305Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Even for successfully implemented programs, there is a great risk that new work practices are not sustained over time. Previous research has yielded a number of factors which influence program sustainability, but little is known about which factors are most important in different contexts or how these factors interact. This study tests a model of sustainability factors in a case where a program for structured needs assessment and documentation was implemented in the Swedish social services. In November 2020, a questionnaire was sent out to local implementing actors in the municipalities. The data include 135 municipal organizations with 1–3 respondents per organization. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used in the analysis. The outcome variable was routinization as one of the most central components of sustainability. The findings show that while the program was implemented at 21.5% of sites, it was both implemented and routinized at only 13.3% of sites. A key factor for successful routinization was an open project strategy, which entails coordination between the implementation process and other change initiatives, the identification of a long-term planning horizon, and development based on continuous feedback. Additional factors found to contribute to routinization were management commitment, user participation, first-line manager commitment, and available resources. Certain factors were identified as pertinent to the implementing actors themselves, such as effective project leadership and rationally planned projects. These latter factors, however, demonstrated less importance towards routinization. These findings are discussed in relation to the fragmented context of the implementation, whereby the recipient organizations were not single, unified organizations, but rather organizational clusters involving both purchaser and provider organizations. The findings have implications for the planning, management, and evaluation of social program implementation and the ability to sustain novel work practices.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2023
Keywords
Sustainability, Routinization, Implementation, Organizational change, Social care, Survey research
National Category
Social Work
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-498743 (URN)10.1155/2023/1458305 (DOI)000939316300001 ()
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2019-01494
Available from: 2023-03-20 Created: 2023-03-20 Last updated: 2023-04-03Bibliographically approved
Winblad, U., Swenning, A.-K., Modigh, A., Åhlfeldt, E., Hedström, G. & Fredriksson, M. (2021). Hur samordnas strukturomvandlingen av hälso- och sjukvården med behov av investeringar av vårdbyggnader?. In: Riksintressen i hälso- och sjukvården – stärkt statlig styrning för hållbar vårdinfrastruktur. SOU 2021:71: (pp. 331-366). Stockholm: Statens offentliga utredningar
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Hur samordnas strukturomvandlingen av hälso- och sjukvården med behov av investeringar av vårdbyggnader?
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2021 (Swedish)In: Riksintressen i hälso- och sjukvården – stärkt statlig styrning för hållbar vårdinfrastruktur. SOU 2021:71, Stockholm: Statens offentliga utredningar , 2021, p. 331-366Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Statens offentliga utredningar, 2021
National Category
Social Sciences Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-465204 (URN)978-91-525-0196-2 (ISBN)
Available from: 2022-01-17 Created: 2022-01-17 Last updated: 2023-06-30Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-3361-1911

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