Applied Systems Thinking For Health Systems Research A Methodological Handbook

Patient safety in health systems has become more and more important as a theme in health research, and so it is not surprising to see a growing interest in applying systems thinking to healthcare. However there is a difficulty - health systems are very complex and constantly adapting to respond to core drivers and fit needs. How do you apply systems thinking in this situation, and what methods are available? National health authorities, international donors and research practitioners need to know the "how-to" of conducting health systems research from a systems thinking perspective. This book will fill this gap and provide a range of tools that give clear guidance of ways to carry out systems thinking in health, with real-world examples. These methodologies include: - System dynamics and causal loops - Network analysis - Outcome mapping - Soft systems methodology And many more. Written by an international team of experts in health research, this handbook will be essential reading for those working in or researching public health, health policy, health systems, global health, service improvement and innovation in practice.. "For those working in the health sector, the relevance and value of systems thinking as a concept is evident. However, operationalization of this concept has been a challenge. With this new book, health researchers have a detailed guide for applying system thinking tools in day-to-day operations to identify and solve issues related to health policy and systems." Ghaffar Abdul, Executive Director of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Switzerland "This book is the first to present practical options for applying systems thinking to understand complexity in health systems. The editors compile an essential collection of practical tools for understanding complex problems and framing research questions, as well as for determining and managing related solutions. Each tool is presented through an accessible summary of the method and the theory upon which it is based, as well as a real-world example. It will be a valuable resource for teaching and practice." Ligia Paina, PhD, Assistant Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA "This keenly-awaited book offers a lucid and comprehensive discussion on how to research complex health systems. Health systems are facing a rapid change and increased complexity, with well-designed solutions often leading to unintended consequences. The book provides invaluable help in navigating this complexity and applying rigorous as well as pragmatic approaches to capturing dynamic interactions between system elements and causal loops. The authors op

Patient safety in health systems has become more and more important as a theme in health research, and so it is not surprising to see a growing interest in applying systems thinking to healthcare. However there is a difficulty – health systems are very complex and constantly adapting to respond to core drivers and fit needs. How do you apply systems thinking in this situation, and what methods are available? National health authorities, international donors and research practitioners need to know the “how-to” of conducting health systems research from a systems thinking perspective. This book will fill this gap and provide a range of tools that give clear guidance of ways to carry out systems thinking in health. These methodologies include: System dynamics and causal loops Network analysis Outcome mapping Soft systems methodology Written by an international team of experts in health research, this handbook will be essential reading for those working in or researching public health, health policy, health systems, global health, service improvement and innovation in practice.

Employing critical-systems thinking, this study analyses the evolution of a health system providing universal coverage.

The five approaches outlined in this book offers the systems thinking practitioner a range of interchangeable tools for pro-actively making systemic improvements amidst complex situations of change and uncertainty. Practitioners from all professional domains are increasingly confronted with incidences of systemic failure, yet poorly equipped with appropriate tools and know-how for understanding such failure, and the making of systemic improvement. In our fragile Anthropocene world where ‘systems change’ is often invoked as the rallying call for purposeful alternative action, this book provides a toolkit to help constructively make systems that can change situations for the better. Systems Approaches offers an excellent introduction for those seeking to understand systems thinking and to enact systems thinking in practice. The book helps practitioners from all professions to better understand inter-relationships, engage with multiple perspectives, and reflect on boundary judgements that can inhibit or enhance improved purposeful change. After an editorial introduction to these systems thinking in practice capabilities, successive chapters illustrate five systems approaches, each chosen for having a rigorous though adaptable framework, and a robust long pedigree of application in complex situations. Each chapter illustrates what the approach is about, followed by invaluable tips and insights from experience regarding how the tools might be practiced. Amongst updates from originating authors for this 2nd edition, each approach has an accompanying postscript on some developments since the 1st edition.

Forced migration has yet to be sufficiently addressed from the perspective of health policy and systems research, resulting in limited knowledge on system‐level interventions and policies to improve the health of forced migrants. The contributions within this edited volume seek to rectify this gap in the literature by compiling the existing knowledge on health systems and health policy responses to forced migration with a focus on asylum seekers, refugees, and internally displaced people. It also brings together the work of research communities from the fields of political science, epidemiology, health sciences, economics, psychology, and sociology to push the knowledge frontier of health research in the area of forced migration towards health policy and systems-level interventions, while also framing potential routes for further research in this area. Among the analyses within the chapters: The political economy of health and forced migration in Europe Innovative humanitarian health financing for refugees Understanding the resilience of health systems Health security in the context of forced migration Discrimination as a health systems response to forced migration Health Policy and Systems Responses to Forced Migration offers unique and interdisciplinary theoretical, empirical, and literature-based perspectives that apply a health policy and systems approach to health and healthcare challenges among forced migrants. It will find an engaged audience among policy makers and analysts, international organizations, scholars in academia, think tanks, and students in undergraduate programs or at the graduate level, for policy, practice, and educational purposes.

While it has become fashionable in the arena of international health to think about health systems, the theoretical underpinning of Niklas Luhmann's vast and productive theory has been given too little consideration in the field. It is rich in concepts that can facilitate a fuller understanding of what health systems are. João Costa applies these concepts and shows the analytical possibilities they open up. He argues concisely how Luhmann's Social Systems Theory offers an integrated theoretical body as well as a consistent articulation of concepts that can lay the groundwork for a vastly improved health systems thinking.

As health systems all over the world not only recover from COVID-19, but learn to adapt to contexts of increasing uncertainty amidst persistent challenges, it is clear that systems thinking has never been needed more. Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that views problems as part of a wider dynamic system. It recognizes and prioritizes the understanding of linkages, relationships, interactions and interdependencies among the components of a system that give rise to the system’s observed behaviour. Systems thinking is a philosophical frame, and it can also be considered a method with its own tools. Identifying ways in the short and long-term which strengthen health systems is critical and applied systems thinking offers opportunities to do this. Systems thinking is often considered to be a field, a discipline, a philosophical approach and a set of tools and methods and can be defined as a way to understand and improve complex issues and situations. Despite broad consensus that systems thinking is important in health systems strengthening, it remains underutilized by researchers, public health practitioners and health decision makers. Further, a gap remains in the translation from concept to policy.

Makes the case for systems thinking in an easily accessible form for a broad interdisciplinary audience, including health system stewards, programme implementers, researchers, evaluators, and funding partners.