Le contexte interne d’implantation d’un environnement de travail promoteur de santé pour les infirmières d’un centre hospitalier universitaire du Québec

In 2006, a University Hospital in Montreal decided to implement the "Health Promoting Hospital" project in a context where nurses’ working conditions were particularly difficult. A case study was conducted at the University Hospital in order to better understand the internal context of implementation of the subproject ‘health promoting workplace'. Interviews were conducted with 7 strategic stakeholders and 18 head nurses to examine their perceptions about the implementation of the HPH project, and particularly of a ‘health promoting workplace’ for nurses. A questionnaire was administered by interview to four key strategic stakeholders of the hospital to assess the compatibility of organizational practices with the standards and criteria of one dimension of the HPH project i.e. the health promoting workplace. The results show similarities and differences among strategic stakeholders’ perceptions about the internal context of implementation. The similarities are on utility, compatibility of the subproject ‘health promoting workplace’ with the organizational values, the need for a gradual implementation, as well as obstacles to its implementation. Differences have lead to five discourses from strategic actors with different levels of commitment. These levels depend on factors of intelligibility (i.e. understanding of the HPH concept, perceived role in the implementation, implementation strategies, vision of implications of the HPH concept).  The results also reveal that all head nurses perceive the usefulness and compatibility of the subproject ‘health promoting workplace' with the organizational values, norms, strategies and goals, as well as the same obstacles to its implementation perceived by the strategic stakeholders. They also show two groups of head nurses differing on proposed and used strategies to implement a ‘health promoting workplace’. The strategies of group 1 can be compared to those of transactional leaders, while those of group 2 can be compared to transformational leaders. Finally, results from the questionnaire show various levels of compatibility between hospital practices and the criteria of a health promoting workplace. Compatibility is high on the criteria for organizational learning and efficiency, health and safety strategies, activities related to health promoting lifestyles, and changes in the physical and social environment. However, it is low for the criteria on health promotion policy and nurses’ participation. Our study has shown the importance of organizational readiness to implement an innovation, a concept hardly considered in the studies about the implementation efficacy of innovations in health services, and particularly the HPH project. Our results also highlighted the importance for a hospital wishing to implement a ‘health promoting workplace’, to train its staff and managers about the HPH project, to have an effective communication plan, and to achieve an organizational diagnostic prior to implementation.

Keyphrases: innovation, Health Promoting Hospital, workplace, implementation, university hospital