Systems thinking in the real world: examples from healthcare
If you are reading this, you are probably intrigued by the possibility of looking at problems in new ways. You might be wondering what systems thinking is all about, and whether it is worth exploring.
Look around you…
You will see many examples of complex problems that persist despite efforts to solve them: increasing rates of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, or political conflicts and wars that go on for years or even decades.
You will see many examples of solutions that initially work, but later create further problems, such as antibiotic use leading to the rise of resistant bacteria, or well-meaning aid schemes leading to increased poverty in the countries that receive them.
You will also see organisations like yours, becoming more and more complex in response to sophisticated breakthroughs in science and technology, to new pandemics and biological threats, and in the face of ever-rising competition.
Such complex challenges are hard to tackle. They have multiple facets and have consequences beyond traditional silos. They cannot be solved by a single solution; there is no magic bullet. Instead, they require a combination of solutions that work together in order to improve outcomes.
In other words, they lend themselves to a systems thinking approach.
