What Can Policy-Makers Get Out of Systems Thinking? Policy Partners’ Experiences of a Systems-Focused Research Collaboration in Preventive Health

Abstract

Background: There is increasing interest in using systems thinking to tackle ‘wicked’ policy problems in preventive health, but this can be challenging for policy-makers because the literature is amorphous and often highly theoretical. Little is known about how best to support health policy-makers to gain skills in understanding and applying systems thinking for policy action. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 policy-makers who are participating in an Australian research collaboration that uses a systems approach. Our aim was to explore factors that support policy-makers to use systems approaches, and to identify any impacts of systems thinking on policy thinking or action, including the pathways through which these impacts occurred. Results: All 18 policy-makers agreed that systems thinking has merit but some questioned its practical policy utility. A small minority were confused about what systems thinking is or which approaches were being used in the collaboration. The majority were engaged with systems thinking and this group identified concrete impacts on their work. They reported using systems-focused research, ideas, tools and resources in policy work that were contributing to the development of practical methodologies for policy design, scaling up, implementation and evaluation; and to new prevention narratives. Importantly, systems thinking was helping some policy-makers to reconceptualise health problems and contexts, goals, potential policy solutions and methods. In short, they were changing how they think about preventive health. Conclusion: These results show that researchers and policy-makers can put systems thinking into action as part of a research collaboration, and that this can result in discernible impacts on policy processes. In this case, action-oriented collaboration and capacity development over a 5-year period facilitated mutual learning and practical application. This indicates that policy-makers can get substantial applied value from systems thinking when they are involved in extended co-production processes that target policy impact and are supported by responsive capacity strategies.

Sense-Making, Mutual Learning and Cognitive Shifts When Applying Systems Thinking in Public Health – Examples From Sweden Comment on "What Can Policy-Makers Get Out of Systems Thinking? Policy Partners’ Experiences of a Systems-Focused Research Collaboration in Preventive Health"

“…10 Team mental models can aid the formulation of collective expectations and explanations of tasks that the team is facing, enhance shared problem representation, and facilitate communication and coordination of team activities. 11 Haynes et al 12 provide an empirical study of practical use of ST by investigating an Australian research collaboration that uses a ST approach, ie, the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (hereafter called the centre). More specifically, their qualitative, explorative paper focuses on policy-makers' experiences of engaging with ST in various cross-sector research collaborations advocated by the centre.…”

Applying a Systems Perspective to Preventive Health: How Can It Be Useful? Comment on "What Can Policy-Makers Get Out of Systems Thinking? Policy Partners’ Experiences of a Systems-Focused Research Collaboration in Preventive Health"

“…The Centre is a "collaboration to identify systems, strategies and structures for better decision-making in efforts to prevent lifestyle-related chronic disease in Australia. " 1 The authors argue that applying and embracing systems thinking represents a paradigm shift away from traditional public health "dominated by acute care and epidemiological models that focus on isolating independent actionable causes. " 1 Systems thinking is depicted as a collaborative effort that involves "viewing health and healthcare as long-term, evolving, contextually embedded and shaped by interconnected forces at micro, meso and macro levels. "…”

“…1 Systems thinking is depicted as a collaborative effort that involves "viewing health and healthcare as long-term, evolving, contextually embedded and shaped by interconnected forces at micro, meso and macro levels. " 1 Paradigm shifts, as originally described by Thomas Kuhn, involve changes to ideas, the kinds of people that produce them, and the wider structures and cultural contexts within which they are embedded. 2 Shifting paradigms can be a contentious and fractious business.…”

“…3,4 However, Haynes et al also identified dissenting voices. Some participants were suspicious of "evangelical researchers" 1 and their academic-sounding theories. Some considered system maps to be confusing, and responded to claims that the world is complex by saying "We already know that!"…”

The Challenges of Putting Systems Thinking into Practice Comment on "What Can Policy-Makers Get Out of Systems Thinking? Policy Partners’ Experiences of a Systems-Focused Research Collaboration in Preventive Health"

“…In this context, the study of Haynes et al is especially refreshing and informative. 5 They offer one of the first detailed looks inside the world of systems thinking in public health practice. It is an exploration that offers some promising insights, but one that also appears to reinforce longstanding trade-offs and tensions in the pursuit of more systemic public health policy.…”