Systems 101: Practical reading
We've been posting some tools and reading. Various people have been asking for reading which is practical. The book on Applied Systems Thinking for Health Research is good, but perhaps more designed to researchers.
Some basic solid reads
So, a couple of basic solid reads? Well, here goes. I wouldn't start with books on systems theory alone. While nothing, ultimately, replaces doing some reading on systems theory it is a complex area and if, like me, you weren't or aren't sure where to go, you can do wrong.
If like most busy people you only read one book on systems
My best advice here is read widely, because unfortunately there is no really good book on practice yet. But a good and useful guide if like most busy people you only have time for one, is Adulrahman et al's Systems Science and Population Health. It tries to bridge systems science and public health science but while it is still methodological in focus it does give some good applications from the literature.
This book bridges the gap between systems science and population health science and brings together contributions from leading authorities in the field to describe how complex systems science contributes to population health and to demonstrate how methodological approaches in systems science can sharpen population health science. The book includes both theoretical and empiric illustrations from the emerging literature at the nexus between complex systems and population health. The first section, “Simplicity, Complexity, and Population Health” walks the reader through the intellectual and conce ... More
The first section, “Simplicity, Complexity, and Population Health” is probably the best part for practitioners, with a quick boot camp on systems science and links.
The third section, “Systems Science Toward a Consequential Population Health,” is an attempt to synthesize what we know in the emerging field of systems and public health approaches. We still have some way to go!
Moving into practice: must reads
Another good read is a series of very thought provoking papers online at https://medium.com/disruptive-design . From tools for thinking to how to lead, this is a great resource to help you get your head round how you start applying and journeying into doing, thinking and applying systems theory and insights, and integrate it with what else you know and find useful.