Pain Management Program in Cardiology: A Template for Application of Normalization Process Theory and Social Marketing to Implement a Change in Practice Quality Improvement

Kerstin Bode, Peter Whittaker, Miriam Dressler, Yvonne Bauer and Haider Ali
Additional contact information
Kerstin Bode: Department of Electrophysiology, Heart Center Leipzig, Struempellstr. 39, 04289 Leipzig, Germany
Peter Whittaker: The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK
Miriam Dressler: Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Liebigstr. 21, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
Yvonne Bauer: Department of Electrophysiology, Heart Center Leipzig, Struempellstr. 39, 04289 Leipzig, Germany
Haider Ali: Business School, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Quality improvement plays a major role in healthcare, and numerous approaches have been developed to implement changes. However, the reasons for success or failure of the methods applied often remains obscure. Normalization process theory, recently developed in sociology, provides a flexible framework upon which to construct quality improvement. We sought to determine if examination of a successful quality improvement project, using normalization process theory and social marketing, provided insight into implementation. We performed a retrospective analysis of the steps taken to implement a pain management program in an electrophysiology clinic. We mapped these steps, and the corresponding social marketing tools used, to elements of normalization process theory. The combination of mapping implementation steps and marketing approaches to the theory provided insight into the quality-improvement process. Specifically, examination of the steps in the context of normalization process theory highlighted barriers to implementation at individual, group, and organizational levels. Importantly, the mapping also highlighted how facilitators were able to overcome the barriers with marketing techniques. Furthermore, integration with social marketing revealed how promotion of tangibility of benefits aided communication and how process co-creation between stakeholders enhanced value. Our implementation of a pain-management program was successful in a challenging environment composed of several stakeholder groups with entrenched initial positions. Therefore, we propose that the behavior change elements of normalization process theory combined with social marketing provide a flexible framework to initiate quality improvement.

Keywords: cardiac ablation; cardiac electrophysiology; co-creation; EPOC; normalization process theory; pain management program; pacemaker; peri-operative management; tangibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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