Poster Presentation Australian & New Zealand Obesity Society 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting

Learning to Track Systems Change Using Causal Loop Diagrams (#209)

Andrew Brown 1 , Lynne Millar 1 , Peter S Hovmand 2 , Jill Kuhlberg 1 , Penny Love 1 , Phoebe Nagorcka-Smith 1 , Megan Odenthal 2 , Brynle Owen 1 , Jillian Whelan 1 , Steve Allender 1
  1. Deakin University, Geelong, VICTORIA, Australia
  2. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Introduction

Group model building (GMB) responds to the complexity of obesity through community engagement techniques that help participants develop causal loop diagrams (CLDs), which present the variables and relationships driving the complex problem. While the construction of CLDs is well documented in the literature, it is less clear how a community can use a CLD to measure changes in a system and evaluate obesity prevention interventions after initial GMB sessions. The aim of this paper is to present how a community used a CLD to track the underlying system changes resulting from implementing a healthy eating curriculum in a school.

Method

In a regional community in Victoria, subsequent to initial GMB sessions where a community-led CLD of the determinants of obesity was developed, a one-hour GMB session (n=7) was conducted to track implementation strategies. Participants brainstormed the steps to implement a healthy eating curriculum in a school and named variables impacted by each step (e.g. leaders attending a workshop impacts leaders’ engagement), thereby transforming transient actions into variables. Participants then drew a CLD representing the connections between their identified variables and the resulting feedback loops. Finally, this intervention CLD was then mapped onto the initial CLD.

Results

The CLD summarising changes in the system contained eight new variables, 19 new connections, and two feedback loops. Participants expressed that this exercise helped them consider how feedback loops might inform addressing any future issues that arise related to the intervention. They also noted that identifying the underlying structure helped them to consider more deeply why implementing the healthy curriculum was successful and how they might replicate that success.

Conclusion

This study presents a promising new technique to capture interventions as feedback structure, allowing practitioners to document systems change, share their findings and strengthen their systems thinking skills to build more effective interventions.