Applying systems thinking to public health leadership

A review of the public health literature reveals a dearth of research that focuses on applying management theories to public health work. This article applies systems thinking to public health practice. A sample of health officers and health department executives were asked to identify the key attributes of the most important problem they faced in their work in the last week. Problems involved an average of four other organizations, and most required two to six months to be resolved. Most decisions were expected to result in new problems. Several cases are presented as examples. Implications for future research, practice, and training are discussed.