Knowing, learning and acting in health care organizations and services : Challenges and opportunities for qualitative research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value of post‐modern psychosocial approaches to studying knowledge and practice construction in health care organizations and settings (HCO&S) and the increasing ability of qualitative research to furnish a deeper, more ecological, and more usable understanding of the social construction of health knowledge and practices. Design/methodology/approach – The argument proposed in the paper is based on a critical literature review conducted on the Psychinfo, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases. Findings – Recent years have seen cultural changes in the values and goals of healthcare interventions that are deeply reconfiguring HCO&S. These changes are reframing HCO&S action and are highlighting the importance of understanding and managing not only the “expert context” but also the “lay contexts” of healthcare interventions. In an attempt to deal with these emergent changes (and challenges), HCO&S are taking advantage of new insights matured in the post‐modern turn of organizational analysis. In this frame, qualitative research proves suitable for connecting HCO&S needs and priorities with the new post‐modern paradigm of knowledge‐ and practice‐sharing in organizations. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the value of qualitative research in the analysis of HCO&S and casts light on the new research trends and new technical‐methodological options arising in this field.