Systems Theory Discuss relationship systems theory healthcare deliver U.S. - What current concepts healthcare explained helped a system theory approach? - What system theory? - How researchers (Ludwig von Bertalanffy Everett M.

Systems theory and diffusion of innovation theory

Systems theory

Systems theory was not specifically designed to cope with the challenges of the U.S. healthcare system, although it has been frequently applied to some of its issues. Systems theory was originally coined by the scientist Ludwig von Bertalanffy to sum up his idea that the 'whole' of systems -- both biological and otherwise -- were larger than the sum of their parts. According to von Bertalanffy, "in the past, science tried to explain observable phenomena by reducing them to an interplay of elementary units investigable independently of each other, conceptions appear in contemporary science that are concerned with what is somewhat vaguely termed 'wholeness', i.e. problems of organization, phenomena not resolvable into local events, dynamic interactions manifest in difference of behaviour of parts when isolated or in a higher configuration" (Von Bertalanffy 1968). This can be seen in the human body, where organs cannot be treated in isolation but must be viewed as part of the larger human 'system.'

Diffusion of innovation theory

Diffusion of innovation theory similarly underlines how outside data can stimulate change, specifically how information flows through a network. As defined by E.M. Rogers, "innovation is communicated through certain channels over a period of time among the members of a social system…An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived to be new by an individual or other unit of adoption [and] communication is a process in which participants create and share information with one another to reach a mutual understanding" (Diffusion of innovation theory, 2013, University of Twente). Innovation is a four-stage process, beginning with the generation of the invention,...

For example, within the healthcare system, when a 'new' idea is introduced (such as the vaccine for chicken pox or a new drug to treat depression), at first, a handful of cutting-edge practitioners avail themselves of the treatment, but gradually it becomes more and more mainstream and adopted by more and more practitioners until it becomes the 'norm.' Eventually some treatments and protocols become so accepted that it is considered abnormal, even malpractice, not to offer them.
Systems theory and the nursing process

Some criticisms have been leveled against the healthcare system given its tendency to treat 'parts' of human health and wellness in isolation (such as having certain practitioners focus upon heart disease and others on diet rather than drawing interconnections between the two), and thus failing to exhibit sufficient appreciation for the biological 'system' of human beings. Human beings themselves and systems which treat the needs of human beings like the healthcare system are 'open' systems and receptive to changes in the environment.

From a nurse's perspective, systems theory is useful in that nursing views the patient as an open system, subjected to changes in terms of the input derived from biological, psychological, social, and spiritual influences. The nurse can help influence the system of the individual patient in a positive way because of this openness, but the openness and interconnectedness of the human makes him or her unpredictable and vulnerable to outside influences. For example, when treating a client who must lose weight, the nurse may recognize that in addition to the biological 'nutritional' systems of intake and outtake, there are social and familial systems which impact the individual and make it difficult for him or her to lose weight. By seeking…