Advancing the application of systems thinking in health: analysing the contextual and social network factors influencing the use of sustainability indicators in a health system – a comparative study in Nepal and Somaliland

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 problems, including sustainability. The objective of this paper is to compare the definition and use of sustainability indicators developed through the Sustainability Analysis Process in two rehabilitation sectors, one in Nepal and one in Somaliland, and analyse the contextual factors (including the characteristics of system stakeholder networks) influencing the use of sustainability data. The paper concludes that the structure of the rehabilitation system stakeholder network characteristics in Nepal and Somaliland evolved over time and helped understand the changing nature of relationships between actors and their capacity to work as a system rather than a sum of actors.

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Blanchet K, Palmer J, Palanchowke R, Boggs D, Jama A, Girois S. Advancing the application of systems thinking in health: analyzing the contextual and social network factors influencing the use of sustainability indicators in a health system – a comparative study in Nepal and Somaliland. Health Research Policy and Systems. 2014;12(46). doi:10.1186/1478-4505-12-46