Assessment 1: A Systems Thinking Approach to Obesity in Australia

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Applying Systems Thinking in Public
health
Assessment 1: Report

Table of Contents
Public health issue......................................................................................................................3
Role of stakeholders...................................................................................................................4
Obstacles in the application of “System Thinking Approach”..................................................5
Suggestions................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

Public health issue
The problem of obesity is very common in the population of Australia. This problem is
caused due to uncontrollable habits of the individuals such as bad eating habit, ignorance of
the schedule, bad choice of food, ignorance to physical tasks, genetics and so forth. With the
help of a number of studies it can be observed that the rate of overweight individuals has
increased tremendously Mutale et al., (2016). This rise has impacted the health of the youth
as the problem of obesity comes with a number of health issues. Aside to this, the students
suffering from obesity have to handle a number of mental and social problems. They are been
teased by the other peer students and thus this starts impacting their minds in a negative
manner. A number of health issues that are caused due to the problem of obesity are Diabetes,
eating disorder, respiratory disorders, heart and liver-related problems, sleep apnoea and so
forth. Hence it is extremely essential to improve the dietary habits of the individuals to aid
the issue of obesity Malik, (2015). The increasing problem of obesity can be controlled by
improving the eating habits of individuals. Aside to this, the government can likewise try to
aware the individuals regarding the same concept in order to resolve the issues related to
obesity.

Role of stakeholders
Stakeholders are the personalities that are related to health care institutions and get affected
by the changes take place in the health and care industry. Brief descriptions of the stakeholder
related to the issue of obesity are as follows:
 Pharmaceutical Companies
 Pharmaceutical Companies plays a vital role in the healthcare sector. These are the
companies that are considered responsible for providing the drugs and other medical
related products to the patients and physicians. They play a major role in reducing the
issue of obesity by providing better drugs, supplements and vitamins to the suffered
ones Arnold & Wade, (2015).
 Physician
Physicians likewise play a key role in resolving the concerned issue by guiding and
providing better treatment to their patients. Physician helps in advising the individuals
and aware them regarding the issues and hazards associated with obesity. With the
help of this process, they can contribute in the respective field in a positive manner.
 Government
Government plays the most significant role in this direction. It is the duty of the
government to start a number of awareness programmes in this direction. With the
help of awareness programmes the government will be able to aware the youth
regarding the hazards associated with obesity Mutale et al., (2016).

Obstacles in the application of “System Thinking Approach”
System thinking approach is a wider concept. It is a practical approach with the help of which
the stakeholder can undertake effective changes in the health care industry. With the effective
utilisation of respective approach the major stakeholders i.e., the government will be able to
control the issue of obesity and can promote the scope of a healthy society Mutale et al.,
(2016). It is extremely essential to develop new strategies and ideas in order to resolve the
issue of obesity. But there are a number of obstacles that can come in the way of applying
System thinking approach in the respective direction, these are as follows:
 The policies of the healthcare sector are unpredictable and hence the smallest mistake
in the respective field can create havoc. Hence it is extremely essential to undertake
any new policy under strict observation
 Communication barriers and clashes among the major stakeholder can likewise create
issues in the progress of the System thinking approach. For the success of any new
policy, mutual understanding among the stakeholder is extremely important.
 Lack of awareness and education among individuals can likewise serve negatively in
this direction. The individuals are not aware of the hazards related to obesity and are
not willing to change their bad habits Duckett & Willcox, (2015).
 The current health care system in inadequate or dealing with the increasing issue of
obesity. It is extremely essential for the government to evolve new strategies and try
to undertake more creative and practical approaches in this direction.
 Lack of financial resources is likewise an obstacle that comes in the way of evolving
or initiation of any new policy in order to resolve the issue of obesity Arnold & Wade,
(2015).

Suggestions
The issue of obesity is increasing day by day in Australia. It is extremely essential to propose
some practical suggestions with the help of System Thinking Approach in order to reduce
the effect of the issue Malik, (2015). With the help of system thinking approach, the
stakeholder will be able to evolve a strategy that can help in eroding away the problem in a
more effective and attractive manner.
A number of suggestions that can be presented for resolving these issues are as follows:
 For controlling the issue of obesity it is extremely essential for the government to try
to evolve ideas that will prove significant in the long run rather than in the short run.
 The government can try to launch awareness programmes in order to aware the
individuals regarding the hazards associated with obesity.
 The physicians can try to organise seminars for their patients affected with obesity in
order to educate them and provide them with knowledge regarding the respective
concept.
 All the stakeholders related to the healthcare society can try to follow the method of
collaboration. With the help of the process of collaboration the firms will be able to
communicate in a more effective manner and can frame more effective strategies in
the concerned direction Duckett & Willcox, (2015).
In this era of modernization, it is utmost essential to upgrade the technology of every field.
Similarly, the government can try to upgrade the current medical care system with the help of
new and latest technology. Technically upgraded programmes will help in solving the issue in
a more effective manner Malik, (2015).

References
 Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2015). A definition of systems thinking: a systems
approach. Procedia Computer Science, 44, 669-678.
 Australian Institute of Health. (2012). Australia's Health 2012: The Thirteenth
Biennial Health Report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. AIHW.
 Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5).
Oxford University Press.
 Malik, A. U. (2015). Application of systems thinking in health: opportunities for
translating theory into practice: Comment on" Constraints to applying systems
thinking concepts in health systems: a regional perspective from surveying
stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean countries". International journal of health
policy and management, 4(8), 537.
 Mutale, W., Balabanova, D., Chintu, N., Mwanamwenge, M. T., & Ayles, H. (2016).
Application of system thinking concepts in health system strengthening in low‐
income settings: a proposed conceptual framework for the evaluation of a complex
health system intervention: the case of the BHOMA intervention in Z ambia. Journal
of evaluation in clinical practice, 22(1), 112-121.