Much more than old wine in new bottles

Abstract

This chapter explores the potential of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) for making improvements in healthcare practices. SSM is an approach designed for tackling real world problems and is described as a learning process that engages relevant stakeholders in a process of inquiry into a problematic situation with the aim of improving the situation. SSM has potential to contribute to the way we manage change in healthcare by acknowledging the complexities of the real world rather than trying to provide simplified or idealized solutions that all-too-often do not work in reality. Although SSM has not been extensively used in healthcare it has been applied in a variety of healthcare settings and for different types of problematic situations and improvements, indicating the versatility of the methodology. We provide examples of how SSM has been applied and based on our analysis discuss some main principles for how SSM can bring about more responsive, sustainable change in healthcare, including: a participatory approach that involves relevant stakeholders with expertise about the local context; a systems approach to assess and address the problematic situation; and approaching improvements in an iterative learning cycle.