ArticleBMC health services research2020
Change and improvement 50 years in the making: a scoping review of the use of soft systems methodology in healthcare.
Article in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Visualized shared mental modeling: an adapted practical framework for interdisciplinary teams solving complex problems in healthcare.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Long-Term Adoption of Televisits in Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Crisis and Following Up Into the Postpandemic Setting: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR aging · 2024Article
- Improving the mental health care process in response to Covid-19 pandemic: The case of a penitentiary mental health division.PloS one · 2023Article
- Using the Soft Systems Methodology to Link Healthcare and Long-Term Care Delivery Systems: A Case Study of Community Policy Coordinator Activities in Japan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Confronting complexity and supporting transformation through health systems mapping: a case study.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Modeling the Implementation Context of a Telemedicine Service: Work Domain Analysis in a Surgical Setting.JMIR formative research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionImproving the quality of healthcare has proven to be a challenging task despite longstanding efforts. Approaches to improvements that consider the strong influence of local context as well as stakeholders' differing views on the situation are warranted. Soft systems methodology (SSM) includes contextual and multi-perspectival features. However, the way SSM has been applied and the outcomes of using SSM to stimulate productive change in healthcare have not been sufficiently investigated.
aimThis scoping review aimed to examine and map the use and outcomes of SSM in healthcare settings.
methodThe review was based on Arksey and O'Malley's framework. We searched six academic databases to January 2019 for peer-reviewed journal articles in English. We also reviewed reference lists of included citations. Articles were included if they were empirical studies focused on the application of SSM in a healthcare setting. Two reviewers conducted the abstract review and one reviewer conducted the full-text review and extracted data on study characteristics, ways of applying SSM and the outcomes of SSM initiatives. Study quality was assessed using Hawker's Quality Assessment Tool.
resultA total of 49 studies were included in the final review. SSM had been used in a range of healthcare settings and for a variety of problem situations. The results revealed an inconsistent use of SSM including departing from Checkland's original vision, applying different tools and involving stakeholders idiosyncratically. The quality of included studies varied and reporting of how SSM had been applied was sometimes inadequate. SSM had most often been used to understand a problem situation and to suggest potential improvements to the situation but to a lesser extent to implement and evaluate these improvements.
conclusionSSM is flexible and applicable to a range of problem situations in healthcare settings. However, better reporting of how SSM has been applied as well as evaluation of different types of outcomes, including implementation and intervention outcomes, is needed in order to appreciate more fully the utility and contribution of SSM in healthcare.
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Registered trials
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