Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 28, 2026
Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
System Support Mapping: A Novel Systems Thinking Tool Applied to Assess the Needs of Maternal and Child Health Title
Larissa Calancie1, Lewis Margolis, Steven A Chall
1Center for Health Equity Research, Social Medicine Department, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Dr Calancie); Departments of Maternal and Child Health (Dr Margolis) and Health Policy and Management (Dr Hassmiller Lich), Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Mr Chall); National MCH Workforce Development Center, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Drs Calancie and Lich, and Ms Mullenix); and Health Systems Transformation, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, Washington, District of Columbia (Ms Chaudhry).
Context:
The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) workforce aims to improve health outcomes for women, children, and families. The work requires coordination and partnerships that span disciplines and service systems. As such, workforce needs assessment requires an approach that is broad, flexible, and "systems-aware."
Objective:
To illustrate the use of System Support Mapping, a novel systems thinking tool that was used to guide participants through a structured assessment of their discrete responsibilities, key needs, and specific resources required for each.
Participants:
Thirty-four Title V MCH professionals and partners from 15 states or jurisdictions.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Description and frequency of Title V MCH professionals' coded roles, responsibilities, needs, resources, and wishes. An aggregated map illustrating interconnections between identified codes is presented.
Results:
State- and local-level MCH professionals reported a range of roles, responsibilities, needs, resources, and wishes. The most and least frequently reported roles, responsibilities, needs, resources, and wishes by state- and local-level MCH professionals are listed, as well as the most frequent connections between those responses. The most frequent responsibility reported in local maps was "link to or provide care or resources" (82%), whereas the most frequent responsibility reported in state maps was "system management" (65%). System management was indirectly connected to 3 wishes: "access to data or information," "funding or resources," and "collaboration, coordination, or support from community or other external organizations."
Conclusions:
System Support Mapping can be used to support needs assessment with MCH professionals. System Support Maps show not only the most and least frequently reported roles, responsibilities, needs, resources, and wishes of participants but also how those responses are connected and potentially interdependent. System Support Maps may be useful for MCH leaders determining how best to organize their teams to take on complex public health challenges and prioritize improvements that will better support their work.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Professional Values
The values that are the foundation of the nursing profession are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, and social justice.
First, altruism refers to the concern for the welfare and well-being of others without personal...
01:19Counterfactual Thinking
01:22The Professional Nurse
Communication skills: These are critical characteristics, especially speaking and listening.
01:29Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System II: Health Perception Pattern
Health Perception Patterns
Health perception patterns offer valuable insights into a patient's lifestyle habits and how they may impact their GI health. These patterns include:
01:21Nursing Assessment of the Genitourinary System I: Health History
01:24Critical Thinking I