The Article in Brief
Systems and Complexity Thinking in the General Practice Literature: An Integrative, Historical Narrative Review
Joachim P. Sturmberg , and colleagues
Background Over the past seven decades, theories about systems and complexity have had a major influence on academic thinking and research. This paper examines general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) literature from the 1970s to the present, in order to review the co-evolution of general practice/family medicine and systems sciences.
What This Study Found Complex systems theories and GP/FM emerged during the second half of the 19th century; 30 to 40 years later, GP/FM began engaging with systems theories as a means to better understand the nature of health and illness. The past 15 years have seen an expansion of systems and complexity thinking in primary care, exploring practice organization and organizational learning, the nature of health, illness and dis-ease, the nature of clinical practice and the behavior of illnesses in patients.
Implications
- The authors call for a continued expansion of systems and complexity thinking in primary care.