Final Reflection: Systems Thinking With Small Changes
A systems thinking approach is necessary when leading a public health initiative in a
culturally and economically diverse community. On the other side, it is important to not
ignore the individual aspects of health. Given the influence of political or economic systems,
reflect on how focusing on broad social, political, and economic factors might blind us to
the interpersonal aspects of health and the small individual impacts that can change a
person’s world. In a 500-word reflection, comment on how a systems-based approach helps
bridge gaps in providing necessary public health services but needs to be balanced with a
personal holistic approach to transform communities. View the “Start Small, Change the
World: Lori DiPrete Brown at TEDxUWMadison” video on YouTube to provide
additional perspective.
Systems Thinking with Small Changes
Systems thinking approach in healthcare is essential since it is the use of the available
links to make different departments in the health sectors work together. Leading a public health
initiative will require considerations of culturally and economically diverse communities. It
means that the systems used should not affect the community at which they are applied. Public
health initiatives should consider ethical operations and serve the community according to their
needs and standards (Brown, 2014). People from different communities have cultures that they
respect and, by any means, protect their heritage. It is essential to identify the systems that would
not violate the community’s cultures and morality when providing social services in society
today.
It is unethical and inappropriate for healthcare professionals to work and support the
society without considering its wellbeing. According to the video on TED Talks, Lori Brown
tries to focus on maintaining an individual healthcare system that morally supports ethical
community services for their culture (Brown, 2014). Diversified ideas of maintaining the cultural
systems help professionals identify the possible measures to take when dealing with a specific
SYSTEMS THINKING 2
community. Interference from other outside forces such as the political influences and
inappropriate restrictions to specific people would contribute to unethical healthcare practices.
Systems thinking approach would apply when the healthcare professionals would use several
healthcare systems and combine them to find a solution of them operating without affecting the
community. Such ideas with the aiming to solve community problems using health professionals
in consideration of community morals and ethics are a way of engaging diverse care services to
help individuals live appropriately. However, not considering individual opinions would cause
people not to trust the services or lose their interest and support to the applied systems.
Factors that may blind us when focusing on the broadside and forgetting the individual
aspects may also affect the systems administration. Social, political, and economic factors
affecting the administration of collaborative systems in healthcare may have a general effect on
the community. As the systems work towards benefiting society, some limitations from the
political and economic instabilities may affect the provision of healthcare services. Interpersonal
relations between professionals and the community are essential when running the program
(Brown, 2014). Identification of proper communication strategies can help develop proper
communication standards for everyone benefiting from these services. The small individual
impacts that can change a person’s world will depend on his/her understanding of their
immediate environment. According to the systems used in healthcare today, they allow
individual care as well as public health maintenance. In the administration of social services,
personal and public interests are a priority. Some of these personal issues will contribute to a
public health problem if public services administrators do not consider personal care a priority.
A system-based approach would help bridge the gap since it is through different
healthcare systems that the public will get services. The approach is from a collaborative benefit
SYSTEMS THINKING 3
of different healthcare systems trying to work together to identify a health problem and combine
efforts to change the situations. The healthcare systems adjusting to personal holistic approaches
to dealing with health issues affecting individuals would help make healthcare services a
beneficial transformation in their communities.
SYSTEMS THINKING 4
Reference
Brown, L. D. (2014). Start small, change the world: Lori DiPrete Brown at TEDxUWMadison.
TEDx Talks.