Lessons learned? Swedish preparedness for creeping health crises and organizational learning after the Swine flu, the 2018 Heatwave and the COVID-19 pandemic

This project explores the Swedish regional health authorities’ capabilities to a) continuously improve organizational capacities to effectively respond to crises affecting the healthcare system; and b) to prepare for and learn from creeping crises.

The empirical cases center on the Swedish experiences from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic known as the Swine flu, the 2018 Heat wave and the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2023.

The unique contribution of this project is its in-depth analyses based on qualitative data of the concrete actions taken by regional health authorities (Regions) during and after three creeping health crises, which allow the researchers to identify critical organizational prerequisites to effectively act on and learn from protracted crises.

The principal aim is to analyze and identify organizational prerequisites for a reliable and effective health crisis response in primary and tertiary care systems, as well as to provide Regions with state-of-the art knowledge and recommendations on how to strengthen preparedness for creeping health crises and improve on post-crisis organizational learning.

The project builds on already established contacts and collaborations between the researchers and clinicians, managers, and public officials within four urban Regions: Uppsala, Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne.