Diffusion of Innovations in Health Service Organisations: A Systematic Literature Review

This important book, based on research funded by the Department of Health Service and Delivery Organisation programme, makes a significant contribution to the literature on improving health services. Out of their exhaustive systematic review of the literature, which unpicked the many different research approaches to the study of the diffusion of innovations in organisations, the authors have produced a model for understanding the complexities of spreading and sustaining innovations in health services for future programmes. Four case studies illustrate how this can be applied in practice.

The comprehensive chapter list includes:
• approaches to researching diffusion of innovation in organisations
• what are innovations in service delivery and organisation?
• why do individuals adopt (or fail to adopt) innovations?
• spreading good ideas: passive diffusion and active dissemination
• organisational influences on innovation
• environmental influences on innovation
• implementing and sustaining innovation in organisations
• case examples
• practical advice on applying the model
• recommendations for future research

This book, the product of true interdisciplinary collaboration across different fields of health services and management research, is enthusiastically endorsed by the UK’s Chief Medical Officer. It will become the standard reference on the effective spread of innovations in health care wherever that is high on the agenda.