Paper Example on Theoretical Foundation and Conceptual Framework

Introduction

The theoretical foundation and conceptual framework provides the path of research and offer the building blocks for establishing credibility. The use of these two concepts aims to make the findings of the research acceptable and meaningful about the theoretical constructs in the study and enable generalizability. For instance, the use of ecological models provides a multi-level approach for organizational learning and development (Weiner et al. 2012), as they focus on the interaction of people with their environment (Sallies, Fisher, 2008). Health literacy is considered an effective way for healthcare professionals to expand their skills and knowledge to enhance their productivity in the workplace. The theories that shall be used as the foundation for this research include System theory: general systems theory, complex-adaptive system, chaos theory, and theory U. The conceptual framework shall focus on the idea of health literacy about accessing, understanding, appraising and applying information for judging and making decisions about health care, disease prevention, and health promotion.

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Theoretical Foundation

The growing need for change in the health care system to accommodate a patient-centered and healthcare literate approaches has gained momentum. The change at the system level by introducing the idea of health literate health care organizations. The achievement of this goal is based on teamwork, effective leadership, and constant monitoring of the outcome to improve the processes. For this reason, various theories were identified by the researcher to guide in designing this system of health care, and they include System theory: general systems theory, complex-adaptive system, chaos theory, and theory U.

The Systems Theory

The systems theory is defined as a boundary within the organization which is separate from the external environment and contains various sub-systems as shown by (McLean, 2006). Additionally, Swanson and Holton (2001) indicated that systems theory is the basis for organizational development in situations where the aim is to establish information concerning the system. Furthermore, it is used as a tool for designing programs that organizations utilize to respond to its core concerns. Also, the same systems are used to establish what is working and what's not and replace it with an appropriate option, by considering how various parts of a system work in harmony to benefit the entire system (Swanson & Holton, 2001). According to (Swanson & Holton, 2001), there are many facets of the system, and they include general systems theory, cybernetics, chaos theory, complex adaptive systems, and futures theory. The structuring of the systems, their relationship at different levels, and their relationship with the external environment are elements used to identify a system.

General Systems Theory

Bertalanffy designed the General Systems Theory that could be used in any system irrespective of its structures of building factors. The aim of designing this theory was his reaction against reductionism and the desire to reignite the unity of science. The theory is made of output, input, and continuous feedback on organizational practices by emphasizing on the level of interaction among the parts of the system (McLean, 2006). The input represents the transfer of information from the external environment to the system, while outputs focus on the transfer of information from the system.

Moreover, the dynamics within the work environment requires the healthcare organization to continuously review its mission, vision, and values to enhance their competence in service delivery. This theory is most effective in open systems where the environment has a tremendous effect on it change. Also, the theory recommended interactions within the system as a way of enhancing the working relationships. The General Systems Theory was viewed as a way of understanding interrelationships and their contributions at the workplace by Swanson and Holton (2001).

Chaos and Complex Adaptive Systems Theory

This theory is also known as the complexity model which seeks to understand how the order is achieved in complex non-linear systems. The theory suggests that living systems shift to a condition of dynamic stability which is referred to as the edge of chaos. Michelle Waldrop is one of the authors who described the edge of chaos, which she termed the balance point to elaborate on the mechanisms of this theory. The chaos is random elements that make up the system, and similarly to other systems theories, the external environment has an impact on the internal elements of the system. Hence, the external elements trigger the change experienced by systems. Thus, the theory suggests that a minor change could alter the system tremendously and affect its overall performs by causing chaos within the organization. Therefore, (Swanson & Holton, 2001) indicated that organizations which appear to be unsystematic are characterized by chaos. The complex adaptive system theory functions in areas where there is a connection between order and chaos as a result of the multiple interactions within the system. For instance, in organizations where the relationships are non-linear which reduces the interactions the efficiency of performance in such context is compromised. This situation could be used to show how the Chaos and Complex Adaptive Systems Theories are interconnected. This situation is reinforced by the fact that complex adaptive systems are not controlled which is contrary to the cybernetics and similarly to other systems theories a slight change in a part of the system has a tremendous impact on the entire system.

Theory U

Theory U is also referred to as the inner methodology, which refers to the change management strategy which aims to improve the leadership which considered inner knowing and social motivation. The theory was designed by Otto Scharmer who based it initially on the U-process which was an idea from Dirk Lemson and Dr. Freidrich Glasl who had aimed to use it to promote organizational and social development. This theory functions similarly to the chaos and complex adaptive systems theories. Its basic premise of this theory is being in the moment or presenting (Otto Scharmer, 2009). In his theory, he aimed at preparing organizations for the future by learning from the past, present, and designing sustainable structures and supportive systems among other strategies as a way of thriving in the dynamic environments. Hence, he recommended the U-shape as a visual representation for the 5 phases of the theory. The first was U: co-initializing, followed by co-sensing, then co-presenting, followed by co-creating, and finally co-evolving. The first stage involves listing to a personal calling then responding to the call by connecting with individual and its context. This step is critical as it helps to identify the needs and reliable interactions for an individual and the organization to drive to the required direction. The co-sensing stage involves the identification of the places with the most potential through observation and listening by both the mind and the heart, where a person is enabled to create fresh knowledge. The co-presenting phase where a person allows the self to access a deeper source of knowledge through reflection and enhancing the emergence of new ideas. This face allows a person to connect with a pending future and prepare to embrace it. The fourth step is co-creating is where new structures and prototypes reflecting the new future. The final stage involves the co-development of a massive system that unites people from different boundaries through observation and taking action as a whole. These five phases enable the leader to observe and act includes and affects all levels of the organizational system such as the Mundo, Meso, Macro, and Micro levels (McLeroy et al. 1988).

The Learning Organization

This is a management theory that suggests that the solutions to ongoing work-related challenges are within the members of an organization. Thus, all individual needs to tap from the knowledge base which is the source for critical and creative thinking which facilitates the communication of ideas and enhanced the corporation with other people during the inquiry and planning to take action. (Senge, 2006) Revealed that human beings are a major constituent of organizations and so they make up a system due to their interconnected interactions. However, their interrelatedness may not be seen immediately which leads to massive changes across the organization over time. This situation may lead to compounding negative effects which may compromise the operations of an organization. Similarly to the Similar to complex-adaptive systems, Senge suggested that for organizations to avoid such an outcome, they need to transform into a learning organization to progressively adapt to changing the environment and improve its capacity to meet its core goals.

The Healthcare System

The healthcare system has become complex with various care providers specializing in different areas, for instance, helping the patients and other managing the entire system. Moreover, many healthcare disciplines have led to the development of different clinical foci and silos when handling patients in clinical situations. For instance, while a nurse may utilize a more humanistic and holistic approach, a physician may use a biomedical model to deal with the same patient (McMurtry, 2007). This situation is enhanced by various factors such as the different ways of training and socialization they encounter which allows them to internalize and conceptualize the same information differently. To overcome this challenge suggestions that members of a different discipline to share their knowledge to harmonize their experiences when handling a patient.

Additionally, the various professionals could integrate their values to minimize the disparity on ways for dealing with patients (McMurtry, 2007). Moreover, to remove the silos, the hierarchies that exist among care providers should be minimized or removed. According to (Aristotle, 2009a) members of a healthcare team should reflect how their contribution affects the process of care delivery and acknowledge the need for learning together and this change should be implemented at all levels of the system. Additionally, mobilizing the organization and sensitizing the staff on the need for becoming a learning organization could reduce the structural disparities that make it difficult for different care providers to handle same patient or condition using integrated knowledge and skills. Since organization include people, structures, and processes, there are many inter-related systems involved, which requires the leaders to be system thinkers to unify these systems and improve organizational efficiency.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework is made of the basic information and knowledge required to comprehend and take action on public health issues. In this context health literacy is the concept which could be utilized to deal with various public health concerns. Health literacy refers to the knowledge, competencies, and motivation to access, appraise, understand, and utilizing the information to make decisions on health and health promotion, and disease prevention activities. Access is used to define the ability to seek and find information related to health. Understand represents the capacity to comprehend the obtained information. Appraise is the capacity to judge, evaluate, interpret, and filter the accessed information. Finally apply defines the process of communicating the information accessed and using it to make an informed decision about health care. These steps of health literacy depend on particular cognitive capacities and quality of accessed information to meet the desired goal. For instanc...