Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The concept of quality of care is evolving, extending beyond traditional indicators such as health outcomes, safety, and effectiveness. Increasingly, factors such as the motivation of health care professionals, their communication and expertise, and the institutional quality culture are recognized as critical components in defining quality of care. At the center of this discourse are physicians, whose decisions and actions significantly influence both patient experiences and health outcomes. This work, structured across four independent studies, investigates how physicians’ actions and their preconditions affect the quality of health care in both outpatient and inpatient settings. It examines the multifaceted nature of health care quality, integrating individual physician actions with broader systemic factors. The findings demonstrate that physicians’ actions and performances are shaped not only by personal attitudes but also by environmental factors and institutional processes. In particular, the following research questions were addressed: How did physicians maintain and adapt their practice under challenging conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Study I)? How did physicians' attitudes towards treatments such as COVID-19 vaccination affect medical practice (Study II)? What role did social and organizational factors play in shaping patient safety and quality of care in hospitals (Study III)? And how did patient volume and medical staffing levels impacted obstetric care (Study IV)? Together, the research reveals the complex interplay of personal, social, and systemic dimensions in determining quality of health care, offering valuable insights into the perception of quality.
Author: Stöcker, Arno
Institution: University of Cologne
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7060991583