Healthcare Leadership in 2024 – a summary of master’s thesis topics
Published: 20.12.2024 / Publication
In an era characterised by the continuously evolving demands and challenges within the healthcare sector, healthcare leadership roles encounter increasingly multifaceted issues that calls for proficient and qualified leadership (Lysfjord & Skarstein, 2024).
Healthcare delivery has become progressively intricate, offering a wide range of services across various levels, from preventative and primary care to acute, specialised, and long-term care, to meet the needs of a changing population. As populations age, chronic diseases become more prevalent and new models of care rapidly emerge to address the expanding spectrum of patient needs. Technological advancements, especially with the recent rise of artificial intelligence, bring regulatory and ethical considerations, as well as a need for development in the workforce knowledge level (Jaramillo-Restrepo et al., 2024). Furthermore, the shortage of nurses has led to an increased migration of internationally educated nurses to the Nordic region, thereby necessitating the development of policies to facilitate their migration and integration into the workplace (Cubelo et al., 2024). In fostering a healthy working environment, leadership skills are essential (Rosengren & Friberg, 2024).
The purpose of this blog post is to explore the thematic and topical focus of the latest master's thesis research undertaken by students within the master's degree programme Healthcare Leadership at Arcada University of Applied Sciences. The program strives to provided future leaders with knowledge, motivation, and ambitions for a leadership career. The master’s thesis (30 ECTS) affords students the opportunity to specialise in areas aligned with their individual leadership interests and aspirations. Examining the master's thesis topics is interesting, because it highlights students’ explorations and even solutions to current topics and challenges within the healthcare sector. It also supports evidence-based practices and professional development, and provides some insights into healthcare leadership in general, enhancing the overall advancement of healthcare.
In the master's thesis Onboarding Guidelines for Internationally Educated Nurses in the Nordic Countries: a Scoping Review, Husted (2024) examines the different aspects of effective onboarding of internationally educated nurses (IENs). This topic is highly relevant, as the imbalance in supply and demand for nurses has led many countries to address their nursing shortages by recruiting IENs. However, the process of recruiting is more complex than traditional local recruitment, requiring sensitive and tailored screening, recruitment, and onboarding practices. Husted’s study explores existing research on, and identifies key areas for, effective onboarding guidelines for IENs in the Nordic countries. The scoping review identified eight themes for onboarding guidelines: language training, informing staff about onboarding procedures, tailored support in bridging programs, accessible information on qualification pathways, cooperation between educational and healthcare institutions, establishment of qualification pathways and bridging programs, and onboarding programs focusing on social and welfare benefits. Furthermore, the thesis provides recommendations for guidelines based on international best practices.
Continuing on the topic of cultural diversity, the thesis Embracing Cultural Intelligence in Healthcare – a strategy for enhancing team performance in multicultural nursing settings by Kanyingi and Withanagamage (2024) investigates the role of cultural intelligence in enhancing team performance and cohesion in culturally diverse nursing teams. The effects of the globalization and migration have markedly increased cultural diversity within healthcare settings, necessitating a workforce proficient in cultural intelligence. Utilizing a narrative literature review, the thesis explores the four dimensions of cultural intelligence - metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioural - and their influence on team dynamics, communication, and patient care. The key findings of the review underscore the capacity of cultural intelligence to promote collaboration, minimize misunderstandings, and enhance team performance in multicultural nursing environments. The study also identifies strategies to augment cultural intelligence, including training programs, mentorship, diverse recruitment practices, and open communication. Kanyingi and Withanagamage (2024) conclude that integrating cultural intelligence into healthcare practices can enable nursing teams to navigate cultural diversity complexities, resulting in improved patient outcomes and a more inclusive work environment.
In their functional thesis, Cultural diversity and Multicultural leadership: designing a MOOC to support leadership in healthcare, Honkanen and von Schoultz (2024) provide educational material on how to lead a multicultural team in healthcare organizations through an online course for healthcare leaders and managers. The need for this educational material has its foundation in the global shortage of skilled nursing professionals, combined with an aging population and fewer young people entering the nursing profession, and how this is expected to result in a more diverse and multicultural nursing workforce. As successful inclusion of this workforce hinges on open, authentic communication and mutual respect, nursing managers play a crucial role in fostering an atmosphere of trust. Furthermore, the reviewed research in their thesis consistently concluded that diverse teams perform better and foster innovation, and show that promoting diversity positively impacts overall performance, decision-making, and innovation. While diverse teams are more likely to find the right solutions, they also tend to experience more conflicts and longer discussions. This calls for knowledgeable leadership, and as a solution to this, Honkanen and von Schoultz (2024) developed a structure and template for a massive open online course (MOOC) on cultural diversity, with practical solutions for leading a culturally diverse team in healthcare.
In the scoping review, Leadership in Hybrid Healthcare System: Challenges and Opportunities, Muhumed (2024) examines the leadership challenges and opportunities associated with managing hybrid work in healthcare settings. Synthesizing recent research findings, it addresses what specific challenges and opportunities exist, and how they can be effectively managed from a hybrid healthcare leadership perspective. The findings underscore the growing importance of mental health support and innovative trust-building methods, reflecting shifts in leadership priorities in the post-pandemic era. The thesis also highlights the effective strategies to address challenges, including developing comprehensive communication frameworks, strategically integrating technology, implementing wellness initiatives, and adopting adaptive leadership practices that balance flexibility with accountability, offering valuable insights and contributing to the evolving discourse on hybrid leadership in healthcare.
The highly trendy topic of artificial intelligence (AI) is also visible in thesis topics during 2024. Huang (2024) has in his thesis Glaucoma in the era of AI: Exploring the current state, challenges and opportunities of AI-driven solutions in glaucoma care examined the current state of AI in glaucoma care, the challenges and opportunities it presents, and the groundbreaking technologies set to transform diagnosis and treatment. Huang (2024) also reviews how AI will impact glaucoma care and emphasises the need for continuous improvement and implementation of advanced AI models to enhance glaucoma management globally.
Kärkkäinen (2024) examines the highly relevant and current topic of loneliness in his study, Loneliness on Reddit – a qualitative netnography. Recognized as a public health crisis, loneliness, a condition where individuals lack sufficient social connections, has garnered increasing attention and research over the past two decades. Kärkkäinen’s thesis explores how individuals express their own experiences of loneliness in online posts on Reddit, with the aim to analyse how people describe their loneliness in their own words. Kärkkäinen’s analysis revealed five common themes in relation to loneliness: seeking advice, peer support, mental health, relocating, and substance use. The findings in Kärkkäinen’s thesis provide insights into common aspects of how people write about their loneliness, providing us with a deeper understanding of loneliness.
Pihlaks (2024) thesis A scoping review of healthcare leadership characteristics and strategies that encourage effective wearable integration examines how differing leadership strategies and characteristics in healthcare affects wearable technology integration. Pihlaks content analysis study identified gaps and measures taken for successful wearable integration, revealing eight key leadership characteristics and six strategies associated with effective digital implementation. This illustrates the connection between leadership and successful wearable technology integration. The study also recognized challenges leaders face in effective adopting of wearable technology.
Conclusions
As healthcare continues to evolve with advancements in technology, regulatory changes, and shifting demographics, understanding and developing the roles and competencies of healthcare leaders is vital for addressing emerging challenges and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, and accessible care. Effective leadership is essential for improving patient safety, efficiency, teamwork and workforce wellbeing (Spanos et al. 2024). Due to this increasing complexity of healthcare, studying and developing the different aspects of healthcare leadership is important (Jaramillo-Restrepo et al., 2024). The recent master’s thesis’ at Arcada UAS presented in this blogpost can be seen as a complement to this important societal task, and their current themes and topics also suitably reflect the evolving field of healthcare leadership.
I would personally like to thank all the students for their hard work, and their efforts in developing healthcare leadership. I also encourage everyone interested in the topic to have a closer look at their work.
Jonas Danielson, Ph.D., Degree Program Director, Arcada UAS
References:
Cubelo, F., Turunen, H., & Jokiniemi, K. (2024). Recruit, integrate, and retain: Internationally educated nurses mobility to the Nordic region: A two-round policy Delphi study. Nursing Outlook, 72(6), 102299.
Honkanen, M. & von Schoultz, L. (2024). Cultural diversity and Multicultural leadership. External link Designing a MOOC to support leadership in healthcare. Arcada UAS.
Jaramillo-Restrepo, V., Losee, J. E., Bump, G. M., Bison-Huckaby, M., & Merriam, S. (2024). Educating Our Future Medical Leaders: An Innovative Longitudinal Course Across Surgical and Medical Specialties in Graduate Education. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 255-262.
Kärkkäinen, K. (2024). Loneliness on Reddit – A qualitative netnography. External link Arcada UAS.
Lysfjord, E. M., & Skarstein, S. (2024). Empowering Leadership: A Journey of Growth and Insight Through a Mentoring Program for Nurses in Leadership Positions. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 443-454.
Muhumed. K. (2024). Leadership in Hybrid Healthcare System: Challenges and Opportunities. External link Arcada UAS.
Rosengren, K., & Friberg, M. (2024). Organisational and leadership skills towards healthy workplaces: an interview study with registered nurses in Sweden. BMC nursing, 23(1), 56.
Spanos, S., Leask, E., Patel, R., Datyner, M., Loh, E., & Braithwaite, J. (2024). Healthcare leaders navigating complexity: a scoping review of key trends in future roles and competencies. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), 720.
