Innovation Skills Assessment: A Cross-sectional Approach to Benchmarking Innovation Potential among Employees of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract Background: Health innovation can play a critical role in the socio-economic development of a nation. Healthcare organizations may claim to be innovative in their implementation of clinical care, but they lack an objective low cost and easy-to-use measure of their innovation capacity. Innovation dashboarding through a relevant tool may fill that gap. Purpose:To facilitate low-cost, low-tech, and fast-tracked innovation by profiling the following four parameters at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan: (I) low-cost innovative idea generation; (II) risk behavior ‘(III) relationship development; and (IV) pivoting from an idea to a tangible product. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study included employees from a tertiary care hospital in the southern Punjab district of Pakistan, using non-probability purposive sampling. The study tool, the Innovation Skills Assessment (ISA), is a novel questionnaire adapted from the validated General Innovation Skills Aptitude Test 2.0. The ISA has structured closed-ended questions, focusing on four pillars of innovation: Pillar I - generating ideas, Pillar II - taking calculated risks and being entrepreneurial, Pillar III - developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, and Pillar IV- turning ideas into products, processes, and services. Results:Stratification of the 161 participants (60% males) into various age groups revealed that individuals aged 36 to 45 years had the highest scores (mean of 4.48) across all four pillars, outperforming other age groups. Additionally, male participants scored higher than females in Pillars I to IV. Participants with education up to the high school level exhibited the highest innovation scores for Pillars I, II, and IV. Conclusion: The ISA can assess healthcare organizational innovation capabilities to establish a baseline. The age group of 36 to 45 emerges as a pivotal period for fostering a healthcare innovation-driven culture in LMICs like Pakistan. The ISA's insights may guide tailored strategies, driving impactful health innovation globally. MESH TERMS: Hospital Innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation dashboarding, innovation skills, innovation benchmarking, health service delivery, health system, South Asia, LMIC. Précis:This cross-sectional study utilized the Innovation Skills Assessment tool to analyze idea generation, risk-taking behavior, and the ability to pivot ideas to products among employees in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. The findings emphasize the importance of the 36 to 45 years age group in leading the innovation culture and stress the need for evaluating low-cost innovative programs for effectiveness.