Skip to main content

Advancing the application of systems thinking in health

Return to Health Research Policy and Systems.

Systems thinking provides an understanding of the complexity of health systems, which is fundamental for strengthening the design, implementation and evaluation of health systems interventions, policies and strategies. The primary objective of this Series is to support the shift from abstract concepts to actual applications and experiences of systems thinking in health, particularly in LMIC. The Series Editor declares no conflict of interest. The Series was coordinated by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems research, World Health Organization. The publication of the Series and the associated capacity building and dissemination activities were carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada. Peer review was independently carried out by the Journal. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this publication and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the World Health Organization or the International Development Research Centre.

Taghreed Adam

  3. Governing immunization services in a way that achieves and maintains desired population coverage levels is complex as it involves interactions of multiple actors and contexts. In one of the Indian states, Kera...

    Authors: Joe Varghese, V Raman Kutty, Ligia Paina and Taghreed Adam
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:47
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Health systems strengthening is becoming a key component of development agendas for low-income countries worldwide. Systems thinking emphasizes the role of diverse stakeholders in designing solutions to system...

    Authors: Karl Blanchet, Jennifer Palmer, Raju Palanchowke, Dorothy Boggs, Ali Jama and Susan Girois
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:46
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Starting in 1999, Concern Worldwide Inc. (Concern) worked with two Bangladeshi municipal health departments to support delivery of maternal and child health preventive services. A mid-term evaluation identifie...

    Authors: Eric G Sarriot, Michelle Kouletio, Shamim Jahan Dr, Izaz Rasul and AKM Musha
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:45
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. This paper explores the evolution of schemes for rural finance in China as a case study of the long and complex process of health system development. It argues that the evolution of these schemes has been the ...

    Authors: Xiulan Zhang, Gerald Bloom, Xiaoxin Xu, Lin Chen, Xiaoyun Liang and Sara J Wolcott
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:44
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Using measles and tuberculosis as case examples, with a systems thinking approach, this study examines the human advice-seeking behavior of primary health care (PHC) physicians in a rural district of Pakistan....

    Authors: Asmat U Malik, Cameron D Willis, Saima Hamid, Anar Ulikpan and Peter S Hill
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:43
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Health systems interventions, such as capacity-building of health workers, are implemented across districts in order to improve performance of healthcare organisations. However, such interventions often work i...

    Authors: Nuggehalli Srinivas Prashanth, Bruno Marchal, Narayanan Devadasan, Guy Kegels and Bart Criel
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:42
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Many full-time Ugandan government health providers take on additional jobs – a phenomenon called dual practice. We describe the complex patterns that characterize the evolution of dual practice in Uganda, and ...

    Authors: Ligia Paina, Sara Bennett, Freddie Ssengooba and David H Peters
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:41
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Of the three million newborns that die each year, Uganda ranks fifth highest in neonatal mortality rates, with 43,000 neonatal deaths each year. Despite child survival and safe motherhood programmes towards re...

    Authors: Agnes Semwanga Rwashana, Sarah Nakubulwa, Margaret Nakakeeto-Kijjambu and Taghreed Adam
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Assuring equitable universal access to essential health services without exposure to undue financial hardship requires adequate resource mobilization, efficient use of resources, and attention to quality and r...

    Authors: Irene A Agyepong, Geneieve C Aryeetey, Justice Nonvignon, Francis Asenso-Boadi, Helen Dzikunu, Edward Antwi, Daniel Ankrah, Charles Adjei-Acquah, Reuben Esena, Moses Aikins and Daniel K Arhinful
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. New forms of leadership are required to bring about the fundamental health system changes demanded by primary health care (PHC). Using theory about complex adaptive systems and policy implementation, this pape...

    Authors: Lucy Gilson, Soraya Elloker, Patti Olckers and Uta Lehmann
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:30
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Although there is widespread agreement that strong district manager decision-making improves health systems, understanding about how the design and implementation of capacity-strengthening interventions work i...

    Authors: Aku Kwamie, Han van Dijk and Irene Akua Agyepong
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2014 12:29
    Content type: Research Published on: