ISSS2021 Poster: Health and Systems Thinking SIG Research and Development

Papernumber: 3807

Title of Paper

Health and Systems Thinking SIG Research and Development (Poster presentation)

Name of Author(s)

TSL WONG
Deeanna BURLESON

E C Yan HUANG

Text of abstract

World Health Organisation WHO and Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research published the book “Systems Thinking for Health Systems Strengthening” ISBN 978 92 4 156389 5. This milestone signifies the importance of systems thinking in health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for the reductionistic Western Medicine and Systemic Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM to demonstrate their respective strategies and results for controlling the disease and treating the people. Comparing the history of medicine in China (Eastern) and in the U.S. (Western) we see very different impacts on the care, health and well-being of individuals and their communities in those areas. China has seen an influx of Western medicine and the U.S. an influx of Chinese medicine. Each of these shifts has occurred for very different reasons and with very different impacts. We present here our research results and directions for future research to integrate with that of others for new systems ideas to emerge for new applications.

A Five-elements Health system is proposed to integrate different kinds of healthcare under the big picture. We start with the wood systems of Mental health. Under this umbrella, we investigated the systems thinking that existed in ancient traditional medicine such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda Medicine, Homeopathy, and others.

Under the guidance of ISSS, we were able to refine our TCM model in the direction of examining the way the human system works, and also how to diagnose and fine tune the human body for stability and efficiency. In the process of trying to understand more on the methodology, we have received personal coaching from professionals of ISSS in understanding Systems of Systems processes, Duality theory, Relational-Theory, Viable Systems Model, DSRP systems, Schemas Theory, and other General Systems Theories. In the research and learning processes, we have discovered that all these modern GST are similar to the theories of TCM and other ancient Chinese general theories, in structure and function, as embedded in the teaching of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Lately we have even discovered that these similarities also exist in an ancient western theory, namely the Tree of Life theory.

As the original purpose of the ISSS was the search for General Systems Theories, we have attempted to integrate Ancient-Modern East-West systems thinkings, and discovered new systems theories such as the Taichi Yin-Yang Five-elements Trinity Systems Theory, the Jewish Tree of Life System Theory, the Innovation and Continuous Improvement for Change Management Systems Theory, and others. We also tried to construct from the theories in Traditional Chinese Medicine to form a new platform for different General Systems Theories GSTs, to communicate with and to learn from each other for the emergence of new GSTs.

Supporting Agencies:
Ancient Balance Medicine Research and Education Fund Foundation Ltd. 古中醫科研教育基金會;
Citizen of Macau SAR of China 中國澳門市民.