Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care

Introduction Primary care centers (PCCs) are the foundation of healthcare, requiring a supportive work environment for quality care and personnel well-being. To address rising common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders) care managers were introduced in Region Västra Götal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pia Augustsson, Eva-Lisa Petersson, Cecilia Björkelund, Sven Persson Kylén, Carl Wikberg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-07-01
Series:Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2025.2538486
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849245685613854720
author Pia Augustsson
Eva-Lisa Petersson
Cecilia Björkelund
Sven Persson Kylén
Carl Wikberg
author_facet Pia Augustsson
Eva-Lisa Petersson
Cecilia Björkelund
Sven Persson Kylén
Carl Wikberg
author_sort Pia Augustsson
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Primary care centers (PCCs) are the foundation of healthcare, requiring a supportive work environment for quality care and personnel well-being. To address rising common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders) care managers were introduced in Region Västra Götaland in 2015 and are now established in 175 PCCs, supported by clinical and economic benefits. This study explores changes in the organisational and social work environment experienced by PCC personnel five years post-implementation of care managers at two points: 2016/17 and 2021/22.Materials and methods This repeated cross-sectional study was conducted as an open cohort at 36 strategically selected PCCs in 2016/17 and 2021/22. Although the personnel varied, consistent instruments were used. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations examined differences in the organizational and social work environment at the two periods.Trial registration NCT02378272, 2015-02-02. Retrospectively registered.Results Familiarity with the care manager function increased from 72% in 2016/17 to 79% in 2021/22. Motivation to collaborate increased by 80%, reflecting a 62% higher willingness compared to 2016/17. Personnel’s knowledge and motivation were significantly associated with perceived improvements in the work environment. These improvements were consistent across gender, age, PCC size, and geographic location. Personnel at smaller PCCs reporting slightly greater improvements, with some age-related variation.Conclusions Having a care manager on site may have limited direct impact on individual work or perceptions of the work environment. However, increased knowledge of the function appears to strengthen collaboration collegial support within the PCC, indicating positive changes in the social and organisational work environment.
format Article
id doaj-art-ab621ef7d0fd461b91a204dec6a9ed88
institution Kabale University
issn 0281-3432
1502-7724
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
spelling doaj-art-ab621ef7d0fd461b91a204dec6a9ed882025-08-20T03:58:44ZengTaylor & Francis GroupScandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care0281-34321502-77242025-07-0111210.1080/02813432.2025.2538486Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary carePia Augustsson0Eva-Lisa Petersson1Cecilia Björkelund2Sven Persson Kylén3Carl Wikberg4General Practice/Family Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenGeneral Practice/Family Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenGeneral Practice/Family Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenRegion Västra Götaland, Research, Education, Development and Innovation (REDI), Primary Health Care, Gothenburg, SwedenGeneral Practice/Family Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenIntroduction Primary care centers (PCCs) are the foundation of healthcare, requiring a supportive work environment for quality care and personnel well-being. To address rising common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders) care managers were introduced in Region Västra Götaland in 2015 and are now established in 175 PCCs, supported by clinical and economic benefits. This study explores changes in the organisational and social work environment experienced by PCC personnel five years post-implementation of care managers at two points: 2016/17 and 2021/22.Materials and methods This repeated cross-sectional study was conducted as an open cohort at 36 strategically selected PCCs in 2016/17 and 2021/22. Although the personnel varied, consistent instruments were used. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations examined differences in the organizational and social work environment at the two periods.Trial registration NCT02378272, 2015-02-02. Retrospectively registered.Results Familiarity with the care manager function increased from 72% in 2016/17 to 79% in 2021/22. Motivation to collaborate increased by 80%, reflecting a 62% higher willingness compared to 2016/17. Personnel’s knowledge and motivation were significantly associated with perceived improvements in the work environment. These improvements were consistent across gender, age, PCC size, and geographic location. Personnel at smaller PCCs reporting slightly greater improvements, with some age-related variation.Conclusions Having a care manager on site may have limited direct impact on individual work or perceptions of the work environment. However, increased knowledge of the function appears to strengthen collaboration collegial support within the PCC, indicating positive changes in the social and organisational work environment.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2025.2538486Primary health carecare managerpersonnelorganisational and social work environmentCollaborative care
spellingShingle Pia Augustsson
Eva-Lisa Petersson
Cecilia Björkelund
Sven Persson Kylén
Carl Wikberg
Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
Primary health care
care manager
personnel
organisational and social work environment
Collaborative care
title Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
title_full Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
title_fullStr Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
title_full_unstemmed Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
title_short Organisational and social work-environment experiences after care manager implementation: a repeated cross-sectional study in Swedish primary care
title_sort organisational and social work environment experiences after care manager implementation a repeated cross sectional study in swedish primary care
topic Primary health care
care manager
personnel
organisational and social work environment
Collaborative care
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2025.2538486
work_keys_str_mv AT piaaugustsson organisationalandsocialworkenvironmentexperiencesaftercaremanagerimplementationarepeatedcrosssectionalstudyinswedishprimarycare
AT evalisapetersson organisationalandsocialworkenvironmentexperiencesaftercaremanagerimplementationarepeatedcrosssectionalstudyinswedishprimarycare
AT ceciliabjorkelund organisationalandsocialworkenvironmentexperiencesaftercaremanagerimplementationarepeatedcrosssectionalstudyinswedishprimarycare
AT svenperssonkylen organisationalandsocialworkenvironmentexperiencesaftercaremanagerimplementationarepeatedcrosssectionalstudyinswedishprimarycare
AT carlwikberg organisationalandsocialworkenvironmentexperiencesaftercaremanagerimplementationarepeatedcrosssectionalstudyinswedishprimarycare