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How Data Work Transforms the Management of Primary Care

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European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET)

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Primary healthcare institutions are incentivized to become more data-driven, as digital health data hold promises of being a gold mine for governance and service delivery. However, data go beyond being simple collections of raw information; they are influenced by social processes and established infrastructures. Hence, data acquire use value in context, through so-called ‘data practices’, or ‘data work’. This PhD project, a contribution to the emerging field of ‘data work studies’, looks into how healthcare managers are utilizing information systems and digital data for decision-making and planning. I’m interested in what happens in the backstage of healthcare institutions, when secondary data is used to support managerial processes. Adopting an ethnographic approach to these practices, I have conducted fieldwork in four Norwegian municipalities. Preliminary results imply that data work has substantial implications for managers and their staff. It often requires highly varied skillsets, which are not accounted for in terms of resources and recognition. This PhD project will enrich our understanding of managerial data practices in healthcare, and how they potentially can be improved - a crucial issue for the quality of future healthcare services.

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Raphaug, Eline Hovstad (2025): How Data Work Transforms the Management of Primary Care. Proceedings of the 23rd EUSSET Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET). EISSN: 2510-2591. Doctoral Colloquium. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. June 30th – July 4th, 2025

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Data work, Data practices, Primary healthcare, Healthcare managers, Decision-making, Governance data, Ethnography

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Except where otherwised noted, this item's license is described as non-exclusive license granted to EUSSET with all other rights remaining with the authors