Whitney Berta

Whitney Berta

Faculty Member

HSR – Health Services Organization and Management Studies Emphasis Lead

I have a sustained interest in the role of knowledge in organizational performance; that is, how its acquisition, generation, use, non-use, and disuse relates to organizational performance. In particular, I am interested in why and how and when workers in organizations generate or acquire new knowledge, how they collectively learn about and use new knowledge, and why some organizations are highly effective in applying new knowledge to enhance their performance while others are less adept at doing so. My work draws from, and aims to contribute to, the literature on organizational learning and knowledge transfer originating in the organization and management sciences, and relates to the concept of learning health systems. A focus on the relationships between organizational learning and performance is particularly germane to health care, where it is within practitioners’, consumers’ and publics’ interests for care-providing organizations to be adept learners and high performers. There is also an interest in realizing the full potential of new knowledge – embedded, for example, in clinical practice guidelines, quality improvement initiatives, new management practices, an organization’s policies, or newly trained professionals. Often, new knowledge of this sort has been generated at considerable cost, with the intent of improving performance in health services organizations. And, frequently in health care, this costly new knowledge is not adopted, or the intended knowledge targets (practitioners, managers, organizations) do not have the capacity to implement it, or resultant practice change is not sustained such that the intended health, operational, or societal benefits are only partially or never realized.

HAD5773H

Introduction to Theories of Organizational Behaviour and Applications to the Health Care Sector

Course Details

HAD6760H

Introduction to Health Services Research Theory and Methods

Course Details

HAD6762H

Health Services Organization and Management Comprehensive Course

Course Details

Peggy Chi

IHPME, University of Toronto

Kainat Bashir

Kainat Bashir

PhD Graduate Student

Thesis: Understanding and leveraging the role of networks and network actors in the implementation of practice change innovations in Ontario’s long term care homes

Supervisors: Whitney Berta

Morgann Reid

PhD Graduate Student

Thesis: Health Workforce Organization and Management

Supervisors: Meena Andiappan, Whitney Berta

Examining the Relationship Between the Natural Environment and Outcomes Related to the Mental Health and Well-Being of Residents and Care Staff in Long-Term Care Homes

Published: 2023