Abstract
Objective
To describe how service managers of different levels of health care use the WhatsApp® application in their professional practice.
Methods
Qualitative, descriptive study developed by means of semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 health care management professionals from a municipality located in the north of the state of Paraná, Brazil. The IRAMUTEQ software was used for data analysis through the Descending Hierarchical Classification method. The main components of each class were analyzed based on a theoretical framework of communication.
Results
Based on participants’ responses, the textual corpus was divided into the following six classes: the sender’s mistrust in the use of the information sent; the impact of agility and resoluteness on managers’ working hours; the use of WhatsApp® as a strategy for integrating services and professionals involved in service management; the utility of WhatsApp® as a management tool; the main strengths and weaknesses in the use of WhatsApp®; and perception of the application utility in decisions that influence the work process.
Conclusion
The study described how health care managers use WhatsApp® in their professional practice, highlighting the importance of the application as a strategic tool in health care management, from real-time sharing and integration of information.
Communication; Information dissemination; Health services administration; Health manager; Social networking
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