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Events, Public Discourses and Responsive Government: Quality Assurance in Health Care in England, Sweden and Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2010

NAONORI KODATE
NAONORI KODATE
Affiliation:
Research Associate – Risk Programme, King's College London/NIHR King's Patient Safety & Service Quality Research Centre, Strand Bridge House, 138-142 Strand, London WC2R 1HH, e-mail: naonori.kodate@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

One would expect the common agenda of improving the quality of care in hospital sectors across nations to bring about a convergence of their quality assurance systems. However, one finds great variations in the ways in which such schemes are constructed and communicated to the general public in different countries. This paper examines three universal health care systems (England, Sweden and Japan) and explores the degree to which political institutions and public opinions affect the processes of quality assurance system building within them. It argues that the inputs from governments in response to public concerns are the key to understanding the changes in this seemingly profession-dominated policy domain; therefore policy changes are significantly affected by dynamic interactions between events, public discourses and governance structures within these countries. The findings also demonstrate that public access to information has begun to have a large impact on policy debates in all three countries.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , December 2010 , pp. 263 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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