Introduction

Abstract

This edited volume presents selected research papers from the 8th International Organisational Behaviour in Healthcare Conference (OBHC) hosted by Mary A. Keating of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, in April 2012. Reflecting the global reach of the OBHC community and the international composition of Society for Studies in Organizing Healthcare (SHOC) membership, more than 130 delegates from 17 countries converged on Dublin for the interdisciplinary conference — the flagship event for members of SHOC. SHOC aims to promote advancement in the organization of healthcare through research, education and service to the community. Previous conferences have been held in Birmingham, Sydney, Aberdeen, Alberta, Banff, Oxford and Keele. The inaugural conference was hosted at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom by Professor Annabelle Mark, founding Chair of SHOC. Professor Mark is Professor Emerita at Middlesex University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. She was honoured at the Dublin conference for her role in founding and developing SHOC and for her broader contributions to the Organizational Behaviour (OB) in healthcare community. Professor Mark is series editor for the edited volumes produced from each conference.KeywordsPalliative CareAdvanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseCoordination ChallengeInterdisciplinary ConferenceMental Health ContextThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.