Navigating and understanding organisational complexity in health services: The value of POSH-VRE

Abstract

This methodological article introduces positive organisational scholarship in healthcare and video reflex- ive ethnography (POSH-VRE) as a methodology to cut through the challenges of accessing and engaging organisations for research. We demonstrate how POSH-VRE can open space to navigate and better under- stand organisational complexity and build capacity. Organisational complexity denotes the interrelated components of a system. POSH-VRE can be helpful within complex organisations, such as health services, because it focuses on positive healthcare practices and experiences. We exemplify this with reference to a study on brilliant community-based palliative care. Using fieldnotes and video-recordings, we reveal the value of positive recognition – or celebration; video-cameras; and courtesy, whereby we adapted to differ- ent contexts. POSH-VRE can be of scholarly, methodological, and organisational value. It enables researchers to navigate organisational complexity and co-construct findings with nonacademic experts. Furthermore, it can encourage nonacademic experts to improve practice by learning from their own capacities to navigate organisational complexity.