reporting requirements, pre-identified outcomes). The expectation to innovate and build the evidence base resulted in some tensions related to the use of accountability frameworks (i.e. The Healthy Towns program was conceived as a formative, learning program, set up to generate evidence on environmental approaches to prevention. The innovation: evidence paradox – Is it ever really safe to fail? Although a systems approach has a strong theoretical basis, it requires a clear set of tools and guidance to implement, alongside a commitment to build workforce capacity and develop systems thinkers and leaders. It was also clear that a wide range of barriers and enablers impacted on the towns’ ability to implement a systems approach. There was a clear disconnect between what was theorised as a systems approach and how it was translated into practice in the Healthy Towns program. Systems approaches can be hard to implement tools and guidance are required. This will help all of us working in public health to buy into systems thinking, and sell it to decision makers and funders. It is critical that we find a way to describe systems thinking that resonates with policy makers, researchers and practitioners alike. There are different interpretations about systems approaches including views that it is no different from existing public health practice. Systems science has been used in fields such as engineering, organisational learning & economics for some time, yet is relatively new to public health. Mis-understanding was compounded by vague government tender documents and the provision of guidance on linear, structured, hierarchical ‘delivery chain’ approaches that are completely at odds with a systems approach. The lack of shared understanding of systems approaches in the Healthy Towns program was evident in the towns’ reliance on more ‘traditional’, risk-factor based approaches to program delivery. We need to develop a shared understanding of systems approaches. The takeout messages from Denise’s presentation: The evaluation generated some interesting insights which seem to indicate a failure in the execution of a systems approach, rather than a failure of a systems approach per se. With £30 million funding, nine towns across England were involved in developing, implementing and evaluating programs to tackle the environmental determinants of diet and physical activity.ĭr Denise Goodwin presented the findings of the Healthy Towns process evaluation, a qualitative stakeholder interview study (n=72). Healthy Towns was conceived as a way to take a systems approach to tackling the obesogenic environment. All of these advocated the need for systemic change at multiple levels and multiple sectors across the life-span. The program itself also has similarities to Healthy Together Victoria both prevention initiatives are underpinned by a systems approach with concentrated, community-level effort in certain areas.Ī number of events in the UK led to the establishment of Healthy Towns, including a call to develop a comprehensive strategy to tackle obesity (Health Select Committee of the House of Commons, 2004), release of the Foresight report ‘Tackling obesities: Future Choices’, and a cross-government obesity strategy ‘Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives’. The English context in which the Healthy Towns program was borne parallels our own: a treatment-oriented health care system facing pressure from rising demands and untenable costs. From her unique vantage point as part of the team evaluating the Healthy Towns program, Denise shared insights from the UK relevant to local obesity prevention efforts, the use of systems approaches to prevention, and Victoria’s own prevention initiative, Healthy Together Victoria. The multidisciplinary crowd of policy makers, practitioners and researchers who gathered to hear Dr Goodwin speak were not disappointed.
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Posted: Ap| Author: CEIPSblogger | Filed under: Uncategorized |Leave a commentĬEIPS launched their new seminar series with a bang on 17 March 2015, attracting a large crowd to the inaugural seminar by Dr Denise Goodwin: Is it possible to take a systems approach in obesity prevention? Findings from the Healthy Towns program in England. Using a systems approach to tackle obesity: insights from the UK The following blog post has also been published on CEIPSblog and has been republished with the author's permission: