Harnessing multiple mental models and creating opportunities for learning about human resource issues among district health officers

Abstract

This paper describes and evaluates the experience of using soft systems methodology (SSM), a problem structuring method of soft operations research (OR), to create learning opportunities about people issues among District Health Officers working in the government health system. A one-day workshop on human resource issues was facilitated using SSM. The workshop was part of a ten-day training program, titled National Health Programmes and Management Issues in Health Organisations , for District Health Officers from two states of India, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. SSM was preferred over a simple discussion or a question answer session because it allowed participants to engage in self-learning and coordinate multiple perceptions of a given situation. Rich picture building one of the tools of SSM was used for facilitating the workshop. The use of SSM helped generate a creative learning situation and provided both the participants and the trainers an opportunity to understand human resource issues faced by those working in the government health department