Investigating integrated socio-technical approaches to health informatics

The paper explores the socio-technical approaches being developed in the Center for Health Informatics and Computing (CHIC) for addressing issues within healthcare that necessitate the integration of information systems with clinical and managerial development. A brief description of the health provision in the UK is given as a background to understanding the need for integrated interventions and approaches in health informatics. Three interlinked approaches are discussed: The Soft Information Systems and Technologies Methodology (SISTeM), Participative Simulation Modeling, and Stakeholder Analysis. A discussion is then provided of how they relate to each other and potential synergies. How they form part of the current and future research agenda within CHIC is then presented. The paper concludes with the argument that, as a result of the nature of healthcare, any health informatics intervention, if it is to be effective, has to be based on integrated socio-technical approaches.