Just the way my brain works: capabilities for working with data in non-clinical practice
| Date | 27 November 2023 |
| Pages | 487-507 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2023-0101 |
| Published date | 27 November 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Suzana Sukovic |
Just the way my brain works:
capabilities for working with
data in non-clinical practice
Suzana Sukovic
Research and Library Services, Presbyterian Ladies’College, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose–Effective useof data is critically important for the provision of health services. A large proportion of
employees in health organisations work in non-clinical roles and play a major part in organisational
information flows. However, their practice, data-related capabilities and learning needs have been rarely
studied. The purpose of this paper is to investigate issues of capabilities and learning needs related to
employees’interactions with data in non-clinical work roles.
Design/methodology/approach –The study used a mixed-method approach. Qualitative methods were
used to explore issues, and survey was administered to gather additional data.
Findings –Data use and related capabilities at the workplace are highly contextual. A range of general, core
and data-specific capabilities, underpinned by transferable skills and personal traits, enable successful
interactions with data. Continuous learning is needed in most areas related to data use.
Research limitations/implications –The study was conducted in a large public-health organisation in
Australia, which is not representative of unique organisations elsewhere. The study has implications for the
provision of health services, workplace learning and education.
Practical implications –Findings have implications for organisational decisions related to data-use and
workplace learning, and for formal education and lifelong learning.
Originality/value –The study contributes to closing a research gap in understanding interactions with data,
capabilities and learning needs of employees in non-clinical work roles. Capabilities continuum presented in
this paper can be used to inform education, training and service provision. The workplace-based results
contribute to theoretical considerations of capabilities required for work in technology-rich environments.
Keywords Workplace learning, Data use, Lifelong learning, Capabilities for data use, Health organisations,
Non-clinical workforce
Paper type Article
1. Introduction
Information use to make decisions, create or act is arguably the strongest common thread
among many different work roles. The importance of using accurate information anywhere at
the right time is particularly acute in health. From remote “one-person”points of care to
global health centres, health services depend on information flow and the ability of the
workforce to use it efficiently and effectively. Health systems rely on strong connections
across the workforce, and between people in clinical and non-clinical roles.
The questionof what people in differentroles need to know and do to effectively participate
in the work information environment has been asked often from education, employment and
research perspectives. In health, this question usually concerns clinical staff, and sometimes
relates to new information and communication technologies (ICT), big data and information
specialistssuch as IT professionals and healthlibrarians. Non-clinical staffare a considerable
part of the health workforce, yet their participation in thework information environment has
Capabilities for
working with
data
487
The author wishes to acknowledge Dr Henry Boateng’s contribution to the survey analysis and Jamaica
Eisner’s contribution to the qualitative part of the study as well as the helpful comments by anonymous
peer reviewers.
Funding: This work was supported by the Health Education and Training Institute, NSW Health.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 27 May 2023
Revised 6 October 2023
Accepted 8 October 2023
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 80 No. 2, 2024
pp. 487-507
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-05-2023-0101
rarely been considered. Non-clinical roles include a wide variety of jobs, all underpinned by
particular demands of the non-clinicalsector as a distinct work context.
This article presents study results, which shed some light on capabilities needed to
effectively work with data in non-clinical roles. The study was conducted in a large public
health system in Australia with around 120,000 full-time equivalent positions on staff
spreading across large urban and rural areas. A combination of qualitative and quantitative
methods was used to explore what employees in non-clinical roles identified as important
capabilities and attributes to successfully work in their information environment.
The paper considersthe literature related to capabilitiesfor living and working in current
digital environments. It presents study methodology and outlines the findings from the
qualitativeand quantitative partsof the study. Finally, study resultsare considered in relation
to the current literature, and implicationsfor education, organisationallearning and research.
2. Literature review
The non-clinical workforce in health is a large and diverse group, so it is impossible to understand
its capabilities and learning needs in the way distinct professional groups are considered. However,
the non-clinical workforce has a shared sense of purpose and context, which shape some common
experiences, and requirements for particular types of knowledge, skills and learning. These
experiences and needs are not well understood as investigations involving employees in non-
clinical settings in health are exceptionally rare. Studies of multiprofessional and interprofessional
groups and their learning needs are almost exclusively focused on clinical contexts. This paper
investigates the capabilities for working with data, so broader literature on information literacy,
particularly capabilities required to live and work in digital environments provide a starting point.
The literature review is based on searches across a range of databases such as EBSCO databases,
JSTOR, Google Scholar and federated searches across databases held by university libraries.
2.1 Capabilities for living in a digital world
Our environment is saturated with information in all forms, but digital technologies and
formats have been the main focus of discussions in literature and public discourse. One of the
reasons is that most fast changes are happening in the digital domain and they affect the
overall information patterns. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that it is still relevant to
understand interactions with analogue technologies and formats.
Information, digital and data literacy feature prominently in discussions about living in a
digital world, frequently with overlapping meanings. Brunner et al. (2018) see information
literacy as essential for twenty-first century citizens. Carmi et al. (2020) consider how digital/
data literacy builds on information and media literacy as its predecessors, and identify
networked systems, critical thinking about systems and active citizenship as its more
prominent aspects. The terms are not well defined, so research or science data literacy are
some of the terms used as attempts to contextualise data literacy (Pothier and Condon, 2020).
Lloyd (2017, pp. 206–207) proposed the term literacies of information “to emphasise how the
enactment of IL is rooted in the deep contextual conceptions of how people in situ connect
with information, knowledge and ways of knowing”. Lloyd considers IL as a foundational
literacy. “The material-economic arrangements (Kemmis and Grootenboe r, 2008) are
represented through the suite of literacies of information (digital, visual, technological),
which have either a contextual emphasis (health literacy, financial literacy) or a material
emphasis (digital literacy, technological literacy, critical literacy”(Lloyd, 2017, p. 97).
Information and digital literacy include a broad range of capabilities. In a systematic
review on digital literacy, Tinmaz et al. (2022) identify four major themes: literacies,
competencies, skills and thinking. A digital competency framework, DigComp2.1, includes
JD
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