Tag: problem identification

Problem Identification in the Policy Process and How Systems Thinking Fits In

Course Objective

  • Explain Stage One of the policy making process i.e. Problem Identification
  • Describe how Systems Thinking tools and approaches can help visualize a problem
  • Describe how Systems Thinking tools and approaches can help define the boundaries of a problem

Launch Date: June 30th, 2020

Subject Matter Expert:
Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH (Public Health), MBA
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health,
Associate Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University


This training describes how to implement the first stage of the CDC policy process – Problem Identification. Using a scenario focused on the opioid problem in fictitious Tycho County, the course discusses the practical steps that a health department, working in collaboration with key stakeholders, can take to describe and understand this complex problem. The course also explores how the application of systems thinking tools and approaches to make boundary decisions and visualize the problem using behavior over time graphs and rich pictures, can strengthen this stage of the policy making process.

Participants will learn about the following:

  1. Explain Stage One of the policy making process i.e. Problem Identification
  2. Describe how Systems Thinking tools and approaches can help visualize a problem
  3. Describe how Systems Thinking tools and approaches can help define the boundaries of a problem
Region 2 Public Health Training Center