Learning to Think About Systems
I believe that seeing the connections and systems is key to understanding global health. Nothing happens on its own. But how do you start thinking that way? Here's what has worked for me:
1. Mind maps Write down the global health issue you're thinking about on the middle of blank sheet of paper. Write down everything you can think of that connects to it, then everything that connects to those factors, and so on, until your paper is full. Draw lines between the direct connections. By the time you're done, your mind will be spinning with all the ways things tie together. This is often how I write the Friday Future posts.
2. Vested Interests Every situation has winners and losers. Take your global health issues, and make a list of who benefits from the situation as it currently is. For example, drug companies benefit from HIV, because they make a lot of money off anti-retroviral drugs. Then make a list of who is being hurt by the current situation. This will give you a sense of why progress is or isn't being made on a given issue.
3. Causes and effects Another list-making exercise. This time, make a list of the effects of your global health problem. Then make a list of the causes. Don't be surprised if some things end up on both lists. Poverty, for example, is often a cause and an effect.
This isn't every tool for thinking systemically - just the ones I've found useful. If you've got your own ways, please suggest them in the comments.
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