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The added value of comprehensive cancer centres: an explorative study

Nagel, J. (2013) The added value of comprehensive cancer centres: an explorative study.

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Abstract:Introduction: In the last decades, cancer has developed to one of the greatest causes of death and therefore has an increasing impact on society. Cancer care is developing rapidly and structures are needed which provide excellent care and which have the ability to translate research finding and innovation into clinical practice. One of the organisational concepts which was established in the US and in recent years in Europe are ‘Comprehensive Cancer Centres’. The main characteristic of these centres is, that basic, translational and clinical research can be found in the same organisation as the clinical care. This study is aiming to find out what the added value of this organisational form is in the context of cancer care and how this value can be demonstrated. Research Approach: The main research question of this study is: Which methodologies and parameters are suitable to measure value in the context of Comprehensive Cancer Centres? The study is an explorative study in which a basis will be provided for future research into this topic. The objectives are to provide insight on the main themes in which Comprehensive Cancer Centres provide an added value and to identify methods and criteria how this can be evaluated. Methodology: An adapted grounded theory approach was used, including a literature review, a survey and a series of interviews. Using three different methods allowed for triangulation of the results. In addition a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods was used in the survey. In the survey and the interviews, inductive and deductive methods were combined in order to validate the results from the literature review. Results: The findings of this study show that Comprehensive Cancer Centres provide an added value in the areas of quality, organisation, research, care, education, collaboration and innovation. These themes appeared from the analysis of the survey and the interviews. In addition a range of criteria and indicators were identified which are combined in a framework which is based on the EFQM model. This framework as a whole shows a set of criteria which contribute to the added value of Comprehensive Cancer Centres. Conclusion: The results show that Comprehensive Cancer Centres are considered to provide an added value in cancer care in different areas. It is the combination of certain characteristics of the organisation and the performance of the organisation on all the criteria that results in the provision of an added value in the areas which were identified in this study. The study has several limitations which are mainly due to its explorative character. It was not analysed in how far each of the criteria contributes to the results and what the correlation between the criteria looks like. In addition, it is recommended to include a greater variety of stakeholders in future research in order to increase the validity of the results. Finally, in order to evaluate in how far a Comprehensive Cancer Centre performs different from other organisations, the framework which was developed in this study can be used to evaluate and compare different organisations in cancer care concerning the different themes of added value which were identified through this study.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Health Sciences MSc (66851)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63715
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