Posted: February 26th, 2022

Systems thinking applied to social justice in public health

Systems thinking applied to social justice in public health

Erika (students name)

Many organizations are pushing for the application of systems thinking to reach social justice in public health. Without systems thinking, unintended consequences can occur, which are negative implications of our actions (CDC, 2017).

Public health improvements have been made at the cost of social justice. While trying to improve one area, we have unfortunately created unintended consequences in another area due to a lack of systems thinking. A “quick fix” may seem more time or cost effective, however this “linear thinking” needs to be turned into systems thinking if we really want to tackle issues in the moment and down the road (Stroh, 2015). To tackle racial equity or racial equity in public health, we must address the root causes of racial equity including education, health, and housing. For example, jumping to create a program to lower blood pressure in an underserved community where hypertension is a prevalent issue may seem like a beneficial program, however it’s more important to approach the issue with systems thinking and look at the education of the population, their housing, and other health disparities they are facing to make the best short and long term solution.

Through tackling social justice with systems thinking, we can solve many issues facing public health as well.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2017, October 26). The Value of Systems Thinking. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3ndxVOZEo .

Stroh, D. P. (2015). Systems Thinking for Social Change. PND by Candid. Retrieved on February 20, 2022 at https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/off-the-shelf/systems-thinking-for-social-change .

Week 4 systems thinking discussion

Valentina (students name)

Systems’ thinking allows for individuals to look at the big picture when trying to solve issues; it is the understanding of the way in which things work in a particular setting. It is important to use systems thinking when trying to address an issue. This is because it allows us to examine the topic as a whole and then help us think of strategies that will help formulate successful plans.

As discussed by Paul Farmer, global health pioneer and Partners in Health co-founder, when applying systems thinking individuals are drawing on the evidence of the literature along with personal drive and empathy to help in the decision making of a topic in health care. An example was used for social justice. When individuals fight for social justice, the successful way to address social justice issues are taking the time to study and analyze how the system of a certain place works. After taking the time to analyze the system, individuals can incorporate what they’ve learned with studied literature, use their own personal empathy and drive for change and then begin creating a plan for the change envisioned. However, if systems thinking is not used to analyze how a place works and to assess the systems already in place, any plan or policy created, may not be successful in the end. (Farmer, 2009)

Reference

Farmer, P. (Darthmouth). (2009). Paul Farmer-The need for “systems thinking” in health care. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukRjaQwGM3E

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