How Data Work Transforms the Management of Primary Care

Abstract

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.