[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-657841-105":59,"doc-detail-657841-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","systems-tools-for-complex-health-systems-a-guide-to-creating-causal-loop-diagrams","Systems Tools for Complex Health Systems - A Guide to Creating Causal Loop Diagrams","","Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program participant guidelines for systems thinkers in complex health systems. The guide explains how to move from rich pictures and identification of key variables to building an inter-relationship digraph and then a causal loop diagram. It covers drivers and outcomes, feedback loop types in CLDs, and the need for ongoing revision, while emphasizing non-linear language to avoid misrepresenting the underlying reality.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/systems-tools-for-complex-health-systems-a-guide-to-creating-causal-loop-diagrams/657841/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/systems-tools-for-complex-health-systems-a-guide-to-creating-causal-loop-diagrams/657841.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Finn","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-26",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the purpose of using causal loop diagrams in complex health systems?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The guide helps participants describe complexity without reducing problems to a linear and static frame. This supports a more accurate understanding of health-system realities and issues.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What should you do in Step 1 when creating a causal loop diagram?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Draw a rich picture that represents all relevant elements, relationships, emotions, and interactions. Use symbols and images to support exploration of ideas not yet articulated.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Which steps lead from variables to a final causal loop diagram?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"After drawing a rich picture (Step 1), identify key variables (Step 2), create an inter-relationship digraph/IRD (Step 3), identify drivers and outcomes (Step 4), then create the causal loop diagram (Step 5). Step 6 focuses on feedback loop types.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},657841,1793073200,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":46,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":31},34359740700684,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1f400023980c374ae676?_k=1777273430885731487","Participant Guidelines  \nSystems Tools for Complex Health Systems:  \nA Guide to Creating Causal Loop Diagrams  \n1  \nCourse Materials developed by: Helen de Pinho MBBCh, MBA, FCPH  \nWith thanks to Laura Baringer and Libby Abbott for their significant input into an earlier draft of these guidelines, and Anna Larsen for reviewing and refining the current version.  \nAverting Maternal Death and Disability Program Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health Mailman School of Public Health  \nColumbia University New York City  \nFebruary 2015  \nThis work was coordinated by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, the World Health Organization, with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.  \nContents  \nIntroduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3  \nStep 1: Draw a rich picture..................................................................................................................................................4  \nStep 2: Identify key variables...............................................................................................................................................6  \nStep 3: Create an inter-relationship digraph (IRD).......................................................................................................7  \nStep 4: Identifying drivers and outcomes.........................................................................................................................9  \nStep 5: Creating a causal loop diagram.......................................................................................................................... 10  \nStep 6: Identifying the types of feedback loops in your CLD................................................................................... 14  \nOngoing revision.................................................................................................................................................................. 17  \nLeverage points .................................................................................................................................................................... 17  \nFor us to be effective systems thinkers it is important that we are able to reflect on the language and tools that we use to better understand the complexity inherent in health systems. If the language we use to describe health systems problems is linear and static we risk making the issues appear much simpler and so risk misrepresenting the very “reality” we are trying to understand or confront. Adopting such a reductionist approach might well result in the development of perfect solutions that address the wrong problem.  \nThis guide was designed to help you through the steps of building a casual loop diagram.  \nYou will want to have a piece of paper and coloured pens/pencils. You should have also already downloaded and become familiar with the VENSIM program, which you should open while reading this guideline.  \nNote: While VENSIM is extremely useful software for constructing causal loop diagrams, it is also possible to accomplish the same effect with PowerPoint, and with “old fashion” pencil and paper.  \nGood luck and enjoy.  \nSTEP 1: DRAW A RICH PICTURE.  \nA rich picture is simply a drawing of the way you see a given situation at a particular moment in time. The quality of the art is not important. Instead what matters is that you represent all of the elements, relationships, emotions, and interactions relevant to the issue at hand. Try to use symbols and images instead of words, as this will facilitate your exploration of thoughts you haven’t already articulated.  \nRich pictures are often used in the synthesis phase as a mechanism to gather and capture information about complex situations as you begin trying to understand the complex issue. Rich p","cbCaieOtcTWFlXNZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieOtcTWFlXNZ","pdf",1011883,"English","# Introduction\n## Step 1: Draw a rich picture\n## Step 2: Identify key variables\n## Step 3: Create an inter-relationship digraph (IRD)\n## Step 4: Identifying drivers and outcomes\n## Step 5: Creating a causal loop diagram\n## Step 6: Identifying the types of feedback loops in your CLD\n## Ongoing revision\n## Leverage points","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of using causal loop diagrams in complex health systems?\",\"answer\":\"The guide helps participants describe complexity without reducing problems to a linear and static frame. This supports a more accurate understanding of health-system realities and issues.\"},{\"question\":\"What should you do in Step 1 when creating a causal loop diagram?\",\"answer\":\"Draw a rich picture that represents all relevant elements, relationships, emotions, and interactions. Use symbols and images to support exploration of ideas not yet articulated.\"},{\"question\":\"Which steps lead from variables to a final causal loop diagram?\",\"answer\":\"After drawing a rich picture (Step 1), identify key variables (Step 2), create an inter-relationship digraph/IRD (Step 3), identify drivers and outcomes (Step 4), then create the causal loop diagram (Step 5). Step 6 focuses on feedback loop types.\"}]","Systems Tools for Complex Health Systems - A Guide to Creating Causal Loop Diagrams | PDF",1792991828]