Identifying the Components of an Organizational Trauma Management Model with Regard to Knowledge Management Strategies among Healthcare Staff of Kerman University of Medical Sciences Hospitals

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify and conceptualize the core components of an organizational trauma management model by considering knowledge management strategies based on the lived experiences of healthcare staff in hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This study employed a qualitative research design using a purposive sampling strategy to select healthcare professionals with substantial experience of organizational challenges and critical incidents. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews complemented by the analysis of relevant organizational documents and upstream records. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis through a systematic three-stage coding process, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, in order to extract dimensions, components, and conceptual relationships relevant to organizational trauma management and knowledge management strategies. The inferential results revealed six interrelated core dimensions: psychological and emotional consequences of work-related trauma, lack of psychological–organizational support, high-tension and stressful work environment, informal knowledge sharing, weakness in organizational knowledge management, and the need for purposeful organizational learning. The findings indicate that unresolved psychological distress and chronic workplace stress intensify organizational trauma, while informal knowledge-sharing practices emerge as compensatory mechanisms in the absence of structured systems. Weak documentation, lack of incentives, and insufficient technological infrastructure were identified as key barriers to transforming individual experiences into collective organizational learning. The study concludes that effective organizational trauma management in healthcare settings requires an integrated approach that simultaneously addresses psychological support, organizational conditions, and systematic knowledge management. Embedding purposeful organizational learning and structured knowledge-sharing mechanisms can transform traumatic experiences into sources of resilience, adaptation, and sustainable organizational development.