Systems Thinking and the Opioid Epidemic in Georgia

Abstract

Systems thinking in public health is an analytic approach that takes a broad perspective to a health issue or challenge and considers the interrelated pieces and dependencies at play within the larger context of that issue. Systems thinking describes the interconnected factors that combine to contribute to many of the complex public health challenges practitioners face in their day-to-day work. Key to systems thinking is the idea that to truly solve a public health problem, one must understand and change the way the system works to create and sustain that problem. Changing just one part of a system can have incomplete (or even adverse) effects on overall outcomes. A systems thinking approach to the opioid epidemic involves understanding that a combination of factors that address various components and structures of the system is warranted to curb opioid misuse and addiction trends at the local, state, and national levels.