The COVID19 Pandemic is complex, and has devastating consequences on many levels of society. In order to more fully appreciate its impact and to implement important ways to mitigate its damage, we need an ecosystem understanding of the many factors that contribute to the impact it's having on so many aspects of society. Our approach recognizes that any meaningful solution must address the entire arc of the COVID 19 pandemic ecosystem, including the biologic, medical, social, public health, economic, political, and related challenges. We build on an understanding of complexity, the potential of information, and communication technology (ICT) as well as insights from behavioral economics to address the challenge. The challenge of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the related disease COVID 19 it causes, requires a well-formulated, coordinated effort that addresses the complexity of The COVID19 Pandemic Ecosystem* and leverages our understanding of the institutional challenges that must be identified and overcome in order to stop the pandemic’s devastation.
Benefits of the systems thinking approach to the COVID19 Pandemic Ecosystem
The COVID19 Pandemic Ecosystem provides an overview of the various stakeholders, rules, and environment that impact the complexity of the challenges associated with the COVID19 pandemic.
The interconnected and complex bio-psycho-socio-political challenges of COVID 19 provide an excellent framework to test a "citizen-centric" approach to address problems facing our nation. More specifically, the challenge of the COVID 19 pandemic is best understood from the complexity/ ecosystem lens. Exploring and understanding the COVID19 Pandemic Ecosystem, the various stakeholders, their interaction and the dynamics driving and maintaining the various issues provides potential “solutions” at the various levels of the complex ecosystem.
The COVID 19 pandemic ecosystem maps provide a sophisticated means to communicate about the environment in which we are working. The complexity of the map helps us to explain that there are no easy answers and that responses require multi-pronged approaches. It exposes the underlying logic of our strategies and helps to reveal where there are gaps in our analysis.
For example, mapping the stakeholders and processes involved in the diagnosis and the management of COVID 19 related disorders will illustrate areas to potentially intervene in the Ecosystem to achieve optimal results. From DNA to social structures including the health care system and the public healthcare system. From personal to local to global.
Along with the section on stakeholders, the Ecosystem features people and organizations that are tasked with creating legislation, scientific research, law enforcement, and treatment approaches to confront the pandemic. The COVID19 Pandemic Ecosystem (Review of System) is incorporated into the COVID19 Pandemic Case Presentation and serves for testing the use of the case presentation in addressing policy challenges. The objective of the COVID19 Pandemic Case Presentation is for it to be used by local entities and be easily configured to local needs and resources.
Our Approach:
Create an ecosystem with the citizen, patient, consumer, citizen perspectives.
Create causal loops to highlight relationships occurring in the process of interaction between various stakeholders.
Create the optimal care for each of the perspectives and compare to current status.
For each perspective, we include the challenge, data, solution, and unintended consequences.
Identify barriers and strategies to address them
Provide tools for the patient, consumer, citizen engagement within the ecosystem. (Checklists, tracers, guidelines, contact information)
Provide tools (Educational, best practice, policies, platforms etc for stakeholder action)
Integrate into the COVID19 Pandemic Case presentation and the Citizen Commission.