ArticleHealth research policy and systems2014
The application of systems thinking in health: why use systems thinking?
Article in Health research policy and systems, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 240 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
240 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systems thinking in public health interventions: a systematic review of barriers and facilitators.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Are physical activity referral scheme components associated with increased physical activity, scheme uptake, and adherence rate? A meta-analysis and meta-regression.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Pooled it
- Systems approaches to scaling up: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence for physical activity and other behavioural non-communicable disease risk factors.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Pooled it
- Strengthening national public health institutes: a systematic review on institution building in the public sector.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Benchmarking Drug Regulatory Systems for Capacity Building: An Integrative Review of Tools, Practice, and Recommendations.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring linkages between drought and HIV treatment adherence in Africa: a systematic review.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2022Pooled it
- Assessing trauma care systems in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and evidence synthesis mapping the Three Delays framework to injury health system assessments.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Operationalizing Patient Experience Data as a System Feedback Asset in Learning Health Systems: Learnings From Model of Care Redesign at Trillium Health Partners.Learning health systems · 2026Article
- Best practices for designing interventions to improve health worker performance in low- and middle-income countries.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Decision-Making in Public Health Crises: A Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography.Public health challenges · 2026Review
- Visualizing stigma and HIV service engagement: a participatory approach using causal loop diagrams.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Advancing systems thinking in implementation science: An epidemiologic perspective.Annals of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Structural analysis and causal loop modelling: an integrated systems approach to analysing perinatal service delivery in carceral settings in Ontario, Canada.Health research policy and systems · 2026Article
- Applying a complex systems-informed approach to population health interventions: a methodological case-study example of traffic restriction schemes outside schools.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Managing public-private partnerships for health diagnostics: challenges and strategies.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Outlining the global variation in resources for traumatic brain injury care: site-level data from the Global Neurotrauma Outcomes Study (GNOS).BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Integrating systems thinking and implementation science in biomedical informatics research.JAMIA open · 2026Review
- Extreme weather events and pathways to mental health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.Climate risk management · 2026Article
- From inherent capacities to resilient systems: a multi-dimensional framework for assessing health system resilience.BMC health services research · 2026Article
180 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This paper explores the question of what systems thinking adds to the field of global health. Observing that elements of systems thinking are already common in public health research, the article discusses which of the large body of theories, methods, and tools associated with systems thinking are more useful. The paper reviews the origins of systems thinking, describing a range of the theories, methods, and tools. A common thread is the idea that the behavior of systems is governed by common principles that can be discovered and expressed. They each address problems of complexity, which is a frequent challenge in global health. The different methods and tools are suited to different types of inquiry and involve both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The paper concludes by emphasizing that explicit models used in systems thinking provide new opportunities to understand and continuously test and revise our understanding of the nature of things, including how to intervene to improve people's health.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.