Patient safety in health systems has become more and more important as a theme in health research, and so it is not surprising to see a growing interest in applying systems thinking to healthcare. However there is a difficulty - health systems are very complex and constantly adapting to respond to core drivers and fit needs. How do you apply systems thinking in this situation, and what methods are available? National health authorities, international donors and research practitioners need to know the "how-to" of conducting health systems research from a systems thinking perspective. This book will fill this gap and provide a range of tools that give clear guidance of ways to carry out systems thinking in health, with real-world examples. These methodologies include: * System dynamics and causal loops * Network analysis * Outcome mapping * Soft systems methodology And many more. Written by an international team of experts in health research, this handbook will be essential reading for those working in or researching public health, health policy, health systems, global health, service improvement and innovation in practice.. "For those working in the health sector, the relevance and value of systems thinking as a concept is evident. However, operationalization of this concept has been a challenge. With this new book, health researchers have a detailed guide for applying system thinking tools in day-to-day operations to identify and solve issues related to health policy and systems." Ghaffar Abdul, Executive Director of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Switzerland "This book is the first to present practical options for applying systems thinking to understand complexity in health systems. The editors compile an essential collection of practical tools for understanding complex problems and framing research questions, as well as for determining and managing related solutions. Each tool is presented through an accessible summary of the method and the theory upon which it is based, as well as a real-world example. It will be a valuable resource for teaching and practice." Ligia Paina, PhD, Assistant Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA "This keenly-awaited book offers a lucid and comprehensive discussion on how to research complex health systems. Health systems are facing a rapid change and increased complexity, with well-designed solutions often leading to unintended consequences. The book provides invaluable help in navigating this complexity and applying rigorous as well as pragmatic approaches to capturing dynamic interactions between system elements and causal loops. The authors operationalise systems thinking in an accessible style, presenting a menu of sophisticated methods and tools, and providing guidance on how to choose methods that fit the questions asked. This and the examples of practical applications of each method makes this book a key learning resource for health systems researchers, commissioners of research, programme implementers and equally, for any readers with interest in complex social systems." Dina Balabanova, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Systems/Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK "Recognition of the need to enhance health systems around the world, instead of only focusing on diseases, has grown significantly over past decade or more. Consequently, production of health policy and systems related research also increased. However, going into an era of Sustainable Development Goals, studying and understanding how the national systems function from a systems perspective becomes even more necessary to find adequate remedies or policy solutions. This book will bring immense value to researchers and decision makers as it provides guidance not on "what to do" but rather "how to do" research from a systems thinking perspective. Systems thinking that emphasizes the context, complexity, interconnectedness, and adaptiveness of the health system resulting from feedback loops is gaining more traction within the health systems research field. Therefore, this book is timely to help equip individuals or researchers with practical tools that are expected to empower the field and facilitate greater and more relevant evidence production for better policy making in health." George Gotsadze, Director, Curatio International Foundation "To ensure that health system research responds to policy priorities and to promote the use of evidence in policy decisions, researchers and health system managers should apply system thinking methods to address problems. This methodological handbook includes variety of essential tools and provides excellent guidance for health system researchers and managers when investigating and resolving complex health systems problems. Given the interconnectedness between health and other systems, the application of the tools included in this handbook is even more important when investigating health systems problems that are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." Fadi El-Jardali, Professor of Health Policy and Systems, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

In the humanitarian field those we rather mockingly call 'French doctors' seem always to be in the vanguard, the first to arrive in any critical situation. If they hold such a position in modern humanitarian intervention it is because these French doctors - first and foremost Medecins Sans Frontieres and its 'little sister' Medecins du Monde - have created a style of humanitarian action that combines intervention in crises with critical assessment of and commentary on the human tragedies -- wars, famines, earthquakes -- in which they find themselves involved. The humanitarian practices we are familiar with today were devised, through trial and errors, by agencies in the United States, Great Britain and Switzerland. France was the last to join the group of so-called 'founder democracies' in the humanitarian field. A closer examination of the history of humanitarianism reveals that it was by drawing on already existing forms of action that MSF, MDM and many others gradually developed its particular brand of intervention, which combines relief practices learnt from the Red Cross with efforts to mobilise public opinion using strategies invented by Amnesty International. The contributors to this volume assess the competing French and 'Anglo-Saxon' models of intervention in the hope of learning from both and formulating approaches to humanitarianism for the twenty-first century. CONTRIBUTORS: Philippe Ryfman, Hugo Slim, Egbert Sondorp, Francois Grunewald, Hugh Goyder, Sami Makki, James Darcy, Christophe Courtin, Adeel Jafferi.

In the humanitarian field those we rather mockingly call "French doctors" seem always to be in the vanguard, the first to arrive in any critical situation. If they hold such a position in modern humanitarian intervention it is because Medecins Sans Frontieres, and its 'little sister' Medecins du Monde, have drawn on the experiences of other organizations gradually to develop their particular brand of intervention; France was after all the last to join the group of so-called "founder democracies" in the humanitarian field.
This detailed study of the comparative history of humanitarianism reveals that it was by learning from forms of action devised by agencies in the United States, Great Britain and Switzerland, that MSF, MDM and many others sought to combine relief practices (learnt from the Red Cross) with efforts to mobilize public opinion (using strategies invented by Amnesty International) in the way that they do.
The contributors assess the competing French and "Anglo-Saxon" models of intervention and propose approaches to humanitarianism for the twenty-first century.