Section 2.1: Leverage Systems Thinking
Module 2: Maximize Data & Expert Insights
Systems thinking was used in Module 1 to help identify key stakeholders relevant to environmental and occupational cancer risk reduction needs and opportunities.
Systems thinking can also provide insights into the underlying factors and their interconnections that create the dynamics by which cancer risks associated with occupational and environmental exposures unfold. Employing a systems perspective means seeing the “forest from the trees”—when details start to fade, and patterns of the underlying relationships begin to emerge. Employing a systems perspective stops us from reacting to an apparent cause by invoking “quick fixes.” Instead, it provides us with the discipline to map the system to reveal solutions that balance short-term and long-term strategies that address the root causes of a problem rather than the symptoms.
UNDERSTANDING KEY TRENDS AND FACTORS THAT REVEAL THE UNDERLYING SYSTEM OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL/OCCUPATION CANCER PROBLEM
- When environmental and occupational cancer is new for your cancer coalition, it is helpful to bring partners together to begin mapping the system that needs to change. Two exercises are important first steps: (1) trend analysis and (2) understanding factors that are impeding cancer risk reduction and influencing cancer risks.
What key trends illuminate the environmental/occupational cancer risk we are trying to reduce?
Trend analysis invites coalition partners to collectively identify trends they think are most relevant in understanding the inter-relationships between environmental/occupational cancer risk reduction needs and opportunities. These trends should be supported by the published literature as well as local expert knowledge.
EXAMPLE: Using stakeholders to identify trends relevant to environmental cancer risk reduction priorities
Trends of Air Pollution in Centerville
A group of diverse stakeholders came together in Centerville to discuss air pollution in the region. Experts (government officials, academic and community-based) identified the following trends in the region.
- Centerville County ranks in the top 1 percent of counties in the U.S. for cancer risk from point source air pollution
- Both diesel particulate and coke oven emissions are a significant driver of the regional cancer risk.
- Extensive air monitoring of black carbon in the Centerville County region has resulted in maps that clearly reveal high pollution levels concentrated in industrial locations and along heavily traveled roadways. Elevations are also clearly seen within communities located in river valleys.
- Data from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reveal a number of carcinogenic emissions from industrial facilities, including heavy metals and VOCs such as benzene and formaldehyde.
- What specific factors influence environmental and occupational carcinogen risk in our state?
Examine and describe the landscape of environmental/occupational risk factors and the system dynamics that amplify or impede them. Work with your cancer coalition to identify and prioritize environmental/occupational carcinogens broadly or focus on specific risk factors. These could include, for example, air pollution, water contaminants, specific occupations of concern, or specific industries of interest/concern (waste incinerators, power plants, oil and gas infrastructure, and dry cleaning facilities, among others).
EXERCISE: Identify the system that perpetuates the production of a specific environmental risk factor
Example Topic: Air pollution in our state
Group Discussion Question: What are the factors and key stakeholders influencing the dynamics of carcinogenic air pollution in our state?
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- What are the key factors?
- Who are the key stakeholders associated with key factors identified?
- Draw linkages between factors.
- Which factors reinforce or perpetuate the dynamics impacting carcinogenic air pollution? What factors impede problematic dynamics or support risk reduction?
- Look for patterns that emerge.
- Are there groups/categories of factors that emerge when thinking about your cancer plan?