Conflict Dynamics in Indian Healthcare: An Exploratory Study on Primers of Conflict in Private Clinical Establishments of Kolkata

Healthcare conflicts are complicated and often dysfunctional in nature. The Indian healthcare system, with its thinning workforce, finds it increasingly difficult to meet the demands and expectations of its healthcare service recipients. Healthcare service providers like physicians, nurses, technical and administrative personnel work in a dynamic and stressful environment with resource and manpower limitations. Healthcare service recipients like patients and their families often face challenges regarding access to care, associated costs, time issues and other situational dynamics. These underlying situations often result in different types of conflicts in the workplace. The purpose of this exploratory study is to understand the factors that serve as primers for healthcare conflicts in the Indian scenario. Data were collected from hospital feedback forms for patients/patient families. The top 10 threads indicating the patient satisfaction factors and conflicting grounds were identified through content analysis, and that formed the basis of the semi-structured questionnaire schedules. Fifty semi-structured interviews were done with healthcare service recipients and healthcare service providers (25 in each set) in private clinical establishments of Kolkata, West Bengal. Four main themes and nine subthemes were identified that illustrated the grounds for healthcare conflicts in Indian settings. The identification of the causes of dissatisfaction and understanding their relationship with healthcare conflicts will go a long way in conflict management.