Funding for this research was provided by:
Institut for Klinisk Medicin, Aarhus Universitet
Aarhus Universitetshospital
Central Region
Strategic Research Area Health Care Science, Karolinska Institutet/Umeå University
Article History
Received: 21 March 2019
Accepted: 31 October 2019
First Online: 14 November 2019
Ethics approval and consent to participate
: This study did not use patient sensitive data. Nor was it focused on individuals but instead on an organization and its improvement efforts. For this reason, when the project was reviewed by the regional ethical review board of the Central Denmark Region, it was deemed that an ethical vetting was “unnecessary”. This notwithstanding, we strove to ensure an ethically sound approach and for that reason followed the same procedures we have repeatedly used in those of our other studies vetted by the Stockholm Ethics review board. Following interview praxis as was standard at the time in Sweden and Denmark, the information provided was written out in the interview guide to ensure that it was presented the same way each time. In addition, all individuals interviewed received written information about the project, data handling routines, contact details, and that they could withdraw at any point. Verbal informed consent was sought as per the standard established praxis at the time of the study in Denmark and Sweden, where verbal agreements are viewed as legally binding. Consent was obtained prior to commencement of the interviews. After recording commenced, the same question of consent was posed again so that the informed consent could be linked to the interview and be provided as documentation should the need arise. Interview data was anonymized in the analysis and transcripts were kept in a password-protected computer. All quotations were vetted and included with the permission of the interviewees.
: Not applicable to this study.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.