what is the systematic approach to problem solving

• I Want to Learn Project Management
• Core Project Management Courses
• I Want to Study Agile Project Management
• Agile Project Management Courses
• Project Management Software
• I Need my Team to be Better at Project Management & Delivery
• I Want to Study for Project Management Professional (PMP)
• The Project Manager’s PMP Study Guide
• PMI Qualifications and PDUs
• I Want to Study for PRINCE2
• PRINCE2 Qualifications
• Agile Qualifications (Scrum and more)
• ITIL Qualifications
• Project Management Knowledge Areas
• Leadership and Management Skills
• Professional Personal Effectiveness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Our Latest Project Management Articles
• Themed Directory of PM Articles
• All Our PM Articles: List
• Our Top ‘Must-Read’ Project Management Guides
• Project Management Podcasts
• All our Project Management Tools & Resources
• Free Online Project Management Resources
• Project Management Productivity Bundle
• Project Management Template Kit
• Project Management Checklists
• Project Management Bookshop
• Project Management Domains
• OnlinePMCourses Kindle-exclusive Project Management eBooks Series
• What is Your Project Management Personality?
• Project in a Box
• The OnlinePMCourses Newsletter
• About OnlinePMCourses
• Contact OnlinePMCourses
• Frequently Asked Questions
• How it Works
• Volume Licensing of Project Management Courses for Businesses
• Become an OnlinePMCourses Affiliate
• Writing for OnlinePMCourses
• How to Build OnlinePMCourses
• OnlinePMCourses Email Whitelisting Instructions
• OnlinePMCourses Privacy Policy
• Free Academy of PM

3 December, 2018

2   comments

Problem-Solving: A Systematic Approach

By   Mike Clayton

One of the joys of Project Management is the constant need for problem-solving.

The novelty and uncertainty of a project environment constantly throw up surprises. So, a Project Manager needs to be adept at solving problems.

In this article, we look at problem-solving and offer you a structured, systematic approach.

Problem-Solving Methodologies

There are a lot of established approaches to structured problem-solving. And there is a good chance that, if you work in a large organization, one of them is in common use. Indeed, some organizations mandate a particular problem-solving methodology.

For example, in automobile manufacturing industries, the 8 Disciplines or 8-D methodology is used widely. And anywhere that Six Sigma is an important part of the toolset, you will probably find the DMAIC method of problem-solving.

Others I like include Simplex and the catchily-named TOSIDPAR. And there are still others that, whilst highly effective, are also assertively protected by copyright, making them hard to discuss in an article like this. I’m thinking of you, Synectics.

Strengths and Weaknesses

All of these methodologies offer great features. And curiously, while each one feels complete, none offers every step you might want. The reason is simple. Each approach is tailored to focus on a part of the problem-solving process. Other parts are either outside their remit or receive less emphasis.

Comparison of Approaches

The consequence is that every structured approach can miss out steps that are important in some contexts. To illustrate, let’s compare the four methodologies I have mentioned.

Resolving the Gaps

At OnlinePMCourses, we use an 8-step problem-solving approach that covers just about all of the steps that these four methodologies offer. But, before we address these, let’s take a look at some practical approaches to applying problem-solving.

Practical Implementation

Some of the best examples of project problem-solving are in two of my favorite movies:

• Apollo 13 ‘Let’s work the problem’ (Gene Kranz played by Ed Harris)
• The Martian ‘In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option, I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this.’ (Mark Watney played by Matt Damon)

In the Apollo 13 movie, there’s a scene where one engineer dumps a big pile of stuff onto a table in front of a bunch of his colleagues.

‘The people upstairs handed us this one and we’ve gotta come through. We’ve gotta’ find a way for this {holds up square thing] fit into the hole for this [a round thing] using nothing but that [a pile of random-looking stuff]. Let’s get it organized.’

They all dive in and we hear a hubbub.

Hubbub is about as reasonable a translation of the Japanese onomatopoeic word Waigaya as I can find. The idea behind Honda’s Waigaya approach is that everyone on the team gets to contribute to the conversation. But it isn’t a simple free-for-all. There are rules:

• Everybody is equal and needs to be able to say what they think.
• The team must listen to all ideas, and discuss them until they can either prove them to be valid or reject them.
• Once someone shares an idea, they don’t own it – it belongs to the team, who can do with the idea what it wants.
• At the end of waigaya, the team has a set of decisions and responsibilities for what to do, by whom, and by when.

There is a fabulous article that is well worth reading, at the Strategy & Business site .

In The Martian, the character Mark Watney is stuck with his problem. This makes it immediate, and also easy to see the context clearly. Another idea from Japanese manufacturing harnesses the value of getting out from behind your desk and going to where the problem is. It’s called ‘ going to the gemba’ – literally, ‘going to the place’ .

There is magic, when we get up, move about, and gather where the problem is happening. Going to the gemba and convening a waigaya is a great way to kick-off even the most complex problem-solving. Unless, that is, the gemba is halfway to the moon, or on Mars.

Recommended 8-Step Problem Solving Method

To reconcile the different methodologies for solving problems on projects, I have developed my own approach. It was tempting just to take the 17 steps in the chart above. But I also found that those four still miss some steps I find important to remember.

Would anyone think a 20-step Problem-solving Process Makes Sense?

I doubt it.

So, I decided to wrap some of the steps into 8 main steps. This gives us an 8-step method, which has everything that I have found you will need for problem-solving in a project context.

In the figure below, you can see those 8 steps as the bold boxes, with the subsidiary elements that form parts of those 8 major steps in fainter type.

So, in the rest of this article, I’ll summarize what I mean by each of these steps.

1. Define the Problem

Defining your problem is vital and takes up four of the 9 steps in the 8 Disciplines approach. But, on a project, this is often clearer than a new problem arising out of the blue in a manufacturing context, where 8D is most popular. So, I have folded the four parts into one step.

Understand the Context

Here’s where you need to find out how the problem impacts the whole of your project, and the circumstances in which it has arisen.

Gather Your Team

On a small project, this is likely to be all or most of your project team. For larger projects, this will center around the team delivering the workstream that the problem affects. For systemic problems, you’ll be asking work-stream leaders to supply expert team members to create a cross-cutting team. We sometimes call these ‘Tiger Teams’ – for reasons I can’t tell you, I’m afraid!

To support you in this stage, you may want to take a look at these articles:

• What You Need to Know about Building a Great Project Team
• Effective Teamwork: Do You Know How to Create it?
• Boost Your Project Team Performance with these Hacks
• How I Create Exceptional Project Collaboration
• How to Make Your Next Kick-off Meeting a Huge Success

Define the Problem

It’s often reasonably easy to define your problem in terms of ‘what’s wrong’. But it pays to be a specific as possible. And one thing that will help you with the next main step (setting an objective) is to define it in terms of what you want.

I like the discipline of defining your problem as:

How to…

Safety First

When I first encountered the 8 Disciplines method, the step that blew me away was D3 – Contain the Problem. I’d not thought of that before!

But it’s clear that, in many environments, like manufacturing, engineering, and transportation, solving the problem is not your first priority. You must first ensure that you do everything possible to limit further damage and risk to life and reputation. This may be the case on your project.

2. Set An Objective for Resolving the Problem

With everything safe and the problem not getting worse, you can move forward. This step is about defining what success looks like.

And, taking a leaf out of the TOSIDPAR approach, what standards, criteria, and measurable outcomes will you use to make your objective s precise as possible?

3. Establish the Facts of the Problem

I suppose the first step in solving a problem is getting an understanding of the issues, and gathering facts. This is the research and analysis stage.

And I like the DMAIC method’s approach of separating this into two distinct parts:

• Fact-finding.  This is where we make measurements in DMAIC, and gather information more generally. Be careful with perceptions and subjective accounts. It may be a fact that this is what I think I saw, but it may not be what actually happened.
• Analysis Once you have your evidence, you can start to figure out what it tells you. This can be a straightforward discussion, or may rely on sophisticated analytical methods, depending on circumstances. One analytical approach, which the 8D method favors, is root cause analysis. There are a number of ways to carry this out.

4. Find Options for Resolving the Problem

I see this step as the heart of problem-solving. So, it always surprises me how thin some methodologies are, here. I split it into four considerations.

Identify Your Options

The creative part of the problem-solving process is coming up with options that will either solve the problem or address it in part. The general rules are simple:

Rule 1: The more options you have, the greater chance of success. Rule 2: The more diverse your team, the more and better will be the options they find.

So, create an informal environment, brief your team, and use your favorite idea generation methods to create the longest list of ideas you can find. Then, look for some more!

Identify your Decision Criteria

A good decision requires good input – in this case, good ideas to choose from. It also needs a strong process and the right people. The first step in creating a strong process is to refer back to your objectives for resolving the problem and define the criteria against which you will evaluate your options and make your decision.

Determine your Decision-makers

You also need to determine who is well-placed to make the decision. This will be by virtue of their authority to commit the project and their expertise in assessing the relevant considerations. In most cases, this will be you – maybe with the support of one or more work-stream leaders. For substantial issues that have major financial, schedule, reputational, or strategic implications, this may be your Project Sponsor or Project Board.

Evaluate your Options

There are a number of ways to evaluate your problem resolution options that range from highly structured and objective to simple subjective approaches. Whichever you select, be sure that you apply the criteria you chose earlier, and present the outcomes of your evaluation honestly.

It is good practice to offer a measure of the confidence decision-makers can have in the evaluation, and a scenario assessment, based on each option.

5. Make a Decision on How to Resolve the Problem

We have done two major articles like this one about decision-making. For more on this topic, take a look at:

• The Essential Guide to Robust Project Decision-Making
• Rapid Decision Making in Projects: How to Get it Right

There are two parts to this step, that are equally important.

• The first is to make the decision.
• The second is to document that decision

Documenting your Decision

Good governance demands that you document your decision. But how documentation to provide is a matter of judgment. Doubtless, it will correlate to the scale and implications of that decision.

Things to consider include:

• What were the options?
• Who were the decision-makers?
• What was the evidence they considered?
• How did they make their decision (process)?
• What decision did they make?
• What were the reasons for their choice?

6. Make a Plan for Resolving the Problem

Well, of course, now you need to put together a plan for how you are going to implement your resolution. Unless, of course, the fix is simple enough that you can just ask your team to get on and do it. So, in that case, skip to step 7.

Inform your Stakeholders

But for an extensive change to your project, you will need to plan the fix. And you will also need to communicate the decision and your plan to your stakeholders. Probably, this is nothing more than informing them of what has happened and how you are acting to resolve it. This can be enormously reassuring and the cost of not doing so is often rumours and gossip about how things are going wrong and that you don’t have control of your project.

Sometimes, however, your fix is a big deal. It may involve substantial disruption, delay, or risk, for example. In this case, you may need to persuade some of your stakeholders that it is the right course of action. As always, communication is 80 percent of project management, and stakeholder engagement is critical to the success of your project.

7. Take Action

There’s an old saying: ‘There’s no change without action.’ Indeed.

What more can I say about this step that will give you any value?

Hmmm. Nothing.

8. Review and Evaluate Your Plan

But this step is vital. How you finish something says a lot about your character.

If you consider the problem-solving as a mini-project, this is the close stage. And what you need to do will echo the needs of that stage. I’ll focus on three components.

Review and Evaluate

Clearly, there is always an opportunity to learn from reviewing the problem, the problem-solving, and the implementation, after completion. This is important for your professional development and for that of your team colleagues.

But it is also crucial to keep the effectiveness of your fix under review. So, monitor closely, until you are confident you have completed the next task…

Prevent the Problem from Recurring

Another phrase from the world of Japanese manufacturing: ‘Poka Yoke’ .

This is mistake-proofing. It is about designing something so it can’t fail. What stops you from putting an SD card or a USB stick into your device in the wrong orientation? If you did, the wrong connections of pins would probably either fry the memory device or, worse, damage your device.

The answer is that they are physically designed so they cannot be inserted incorrectly.

What can you do on your project to make a recurrence of this problem impossible? If there is an answer and that answer is cost-effective, then implement it.

Celebrate your Success in Fixing it

Always the last thing you do is celebrate. Now, when Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise (the crew of Apollo 13) returned safely to Earth, I’ll bet there was a big celebration. For solving your project problem, something modest is more likely to be in order. But don’t skill this. Even if it’s nothing more than a high five and a coffee break, always ensure that your team knows they have done well.

What Approach Do You Use for Problem-Solving?

How do you tackle solving problems on your projects? Do tell us, or share any thoughts you have, in the comments below. I’ll respond to anything you contribute.

Never miss an article or video!

Get notified of every new article or video we publish, when we publish it.

Type your email…

Mike Clayton

About the author....

Great structure, Mike. We had a problem once that suited the “contain” step quite well. Lubricating oil and hydraulic fluid, from the same supplier, had been packaged incorrectly. A tech went to add oil to an aircraft’s engine, but dropped the can onto the concrete, and noticed red hydraulic fluid spill out! Obviously there’s now the risk that people have been inadvertently adding hydraulic fluid to aircraft engines… not good. It was actually FAR more important to contain this is real time so that aircraft, some of which could be airborne, could be safely grounded/quarantined. Resolving the subsequent ramifications could then be accomplished in “slow time” with some deliberate planning/execution.

Thank you very much. That’s a powerful illustration and hopefully the incudenbt did not cause any loss of life or serious damage.

 Get notified of every new article or video we publish, when we publish it.

Session expired

Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.

CSense Management Solutions Pvt Ltd

Search search, systematic problem-solving.

What is Problem-solving?

Before we understand problem-solving, let us first calibrate ourselves on ‘what is called a problem?’

When there is a gap between our expectations and reality, we feel unhappy – which is a Problem . This is how a deviation from the specification, a failure to meet timelines, etc., become our problems. A problem could be defined as “the gap between our expectations and actual state or observation”.

From the gap analogy, we also understand that as the gap increases, our suffering intensifies.

Problem-solving

A fundamental part of every manager’s role is problem-solving. So, being a confident problem solver is really important to your success.

Much of that confidence comes from having a good process to use when approaching a problem. With one, you can solve problems quickly and effectively. Without one, your solutions may be ineffective, or you’ll get stuck and do nothing, sometimes with painful consequences.

Managing the problem (correction) instead of solving it (with corrective action) creates firefighting in our daily work. To solve a problem permanently, we need to understand and act on its root cause. We will also follow the steps of identifying root causes and prevent their recurrence in this workshop.

CSense IC 3 Approach

• Identification
• Containment Action
• Investigation
• Cause Analysis
• Improvement

Applications of methodology

The methodology is simple and applicable to most of the problems faced by the industries. Hence, it is widely accepted and recommended by companies. This also forms a framework for Auto industries’ 8D Problem Solving, Pharma industries’ USFDA recommended 7 step approach and Six Sigma’s DMAIC approach.

Training Contents

• Overview of Problem-solving
• Need for Problem-Solving
• Managing a Problem Vs Problem Solving
• Definitions – Correction, Corrective Action & Preventive Action

Step by Step Approach to Problem-Solving

1. identification.

• Use of 5W2H questions

2. Containment Action

• Assessing the problem and its risk
• Forming Effective Teams
• CFT & CHT
• Damage control – Interim Actions
• Communication plan

3. Investigation

• Data / Evidence Collection

4. Cause Analysis

• Brainstorming for Problem-solving
• Fishbone Analysis
• Is – Is Not Analysis
• Process Mapping
• Data and Statistical Analysis
• Data collection
• Graphical Tools
• Why-Why Analysis
• Validation of Root causes
• Statistical Analysis

5. Improvement

• Permanent Corrective Action
• Solution Generation
• Pilot Implementation
• Solution Action Plan
• Preventing Recurrence
• Control Plan
• Verification of Status
• Verification of Effectiveness
• Training & Documentation

Training Duration

• Two days – 16 hours

About the Course

The Problem-Solving workshop caters to leaders and managers who are interested in solving the recurring problems and want to bring in the culture and team-based approach of systematic problem solving to every level of people in the organisation. We deal with the most relevant tools in the step-by-step approach. We can take up the actual cases of recurring problems in the company as an example and study for the workshop. The course covers essential problem-solving tools like problem definition, containment action, root cause analysis with QC tools, root cause validation using statistical tools, corrective action, preventive action, escape points, Poka-yoke and more.

Course Objectives

At the end of the course, participants will be able to understand and appreciate

• Cost of Poor Quality
• The need for Systematic problem-solving
• Various approaches to problem-solving
• Difference between correction, corrective action and preventive action
• Team approach enhance effective solutions and learning
• Risk assessment and containment actions
• Root cause analysis
• Statistical tools
• Arriving at an effective action plan
• Preventing the defects

Target Audience

• Managers responsible for process improvements
• Quality Managers, Internal and External Auditors
• Shop floor managers and supervisors
• Production and Maintenance Managers
• Product Design Engineers
• Research Engineers & Scientists

Workshop Methodology

CSense Workshop approach is based on scientifically proven methodologies of Learning, which includes Learning by

• Listening – Classroom sessions & Audio-Visuals
• by Teaching
• Examples & Exercises at the end of each step
• We will provide the required Templates and formats for each tool
• During the course, we will form 3 to 4 cross-functional teams
• We will help each team choose a specific problem (either an open Non-conformance or a recently closed out non-conformance)
• We encourage the teams to choose different types of problems like Audit observations, internal failures/rejections, customer complaints, machine breakdown or accidents.
• Then we will guide the participants to work on their assigned problem with the new approach – application & documentation.
• Faculty will help the teams to apply the learning on the problems and explain the practical doubts.
• After each step, teams will present their work.

Min 12 and Max 20 Participants per batch

Customisation

We can customise the deliverable as per client’s requirements.

Certification

• Certification Criteria: 90% attendance in Training Sessions, participation in activities and 70% Score in written test
• The test will be conducted on 2 nd day of training
• Laptop/desktop with provision to install software packages for participants to be arranged by the client.

Additional Support

Continued coaching and hand-holding support could be provided by CSense after the workshop for successful project completion, as an optional engagement.

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Self-Assessment • 20 min read

How Good Is Your Problem Solving?

Use a systematic approach..

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Good problem solving skills are fundamentally important if you're going to be successful in your career.

But problems are something that we don't particularly like.

They're time-consuming.

They muscle their way into already packed schedules.

They force us to think about an uncertain future.

And they never seem to go away!

That's why, when faced with problems, most of us try to eliminate them as quickly as possible. But have you ever chosen the easiest or most obvious solution – and then realized that you have entirely missed a much better solution? Or have you found yourself fixing just the symptoms of a problem, only for the situation to get much worse?

To be an effective problem-solver, you need to be systematic and logical in your approach. This quiz helps you assess your current approach to problem solving. By improving this, you'll make better overall decisions. And as you increase your confidence with solving problems, you'll be less likely to rush to the first solution – which may not necessarily be the best one.

Once you've completed the quiz, we'll direct you to tools and resources that can help you make the most of your problem-solving skills.

How Good Are You at Solving Problems?

Instructions.

For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the 'wrong direction'. When you are finished, please click the 'Calculate My Total' button at the bottom of the test.

Answering these questions should have helped you recognize the key steps associated with effective problem solving.

This quiz is based on Dr Min Basadur's Simplexity Thinking problem-solving model. This eight-step process follows the circular pattern shown below, within which current problems are solved and new problems are identified on an ongoing basis. This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only.

Below, we outline the tools and strategies you can use for each stage of the problem-solving process. Enjoy exploring these stages!

Step 1: Find the Problem (Questions 7, 12)

Some problems are very obvious, however others are not so easily identified. As part of an effective problem-solving process, you need to look actively for problems – even when things seem to be running fine. Proactive problem solving helps you avoid emergencies and allows you to be calm and in control when issues arise.

These techniques can help you do this:

PEST Analysis helps you pick up changes to your environment that you should be paying attention to. Make sure too that you're watching changes in customer needs and market dynamics, and that you're monitoring trends that are relevant to your industry.

Risk Analysis helps you identify significant business risks.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis helps you identify possible points of failure in your business process, so that you can fix these before problems arise.

After Action Reviews help you scan recent performance to identify things that can be done better in the future.

Where you have several problems to solve, our articles on Prioritization and Pareto Analysis help you think about which ones you should focus on first.

Step 2: Find the Facts (Questions 10, 14)

After identifying a potential problem, you need information. What factors contribute to the problem? Who is involved with it? What solutions have been tried before? What do others think about the problem?

If you move forward to find a solution too quickly, you risk relying on imperfect information that's based on assumptions and limited perspectives, so make sure that you research the problem thoroughly.

Step 3: Define the Problem (Questions 3, 9)

Now that you understand the problem, define it clearly and completely. Writing a clear problem definition forces you to establish specific boundaries for the problem. This keeps the scope from growing too large, and it helps you stay focused on the main issues.

A great tool to use at this stage is CATWOE . With this process, you analyze potential problems by looking at them from six perspectives, those of its Customers; Actors (people within the organization); the Transformation, or business process; the World-view, or top-down view of what's going on; the Owner; and the wider organizational Environment. By looking at a situation from these perspectives, you can open your mind and come to a much sharper and more comprehensive definition of the problem.

Cause and Effect Analysis is another good tool to use here, as it helps you think about the many different factors that can contribute to a problem. This helps you separate the symptoms of a problem from its fundamental causes.

Step 4: Find Ideas (Questions 4, 13)

With a clear problem definition, start generating ideas for a solution. The key here is to be flexible in the way you approach a problem. You want to be able to see it from as many perspectives as possible. Looking for patterns or common elements in different parts of the problem can sometimes help. You can also use metaphors and analogies to help analyze the problem, discover similarities to other issues, and think of solutions based on those similarities.

Traditional brainstorming and reverse brainstorming are very useful here. By taking the time to generate a range of creative solutions to the problem, you'll significantly increase the likelihood that you'll find the best possible solution, not just a semi-adequate one. Where appropriate, involve people with different viewpoints to expand the volume of ideas generated.

Tip: Don't evaluate your ideas until step 5. If you do, this will limit your creativity at too early a stage.

Step 5: Select and Evaluate (Questions 6, 15)

After finding ideas, you'll have many options that must be evaluated. It's tempting at this stage to charge in and start discarding ideas immediately. However, if you do this without first determining the criteria for a good solution, you risk rejecting an alternative that has real potential.

Decide what elements are needed for a realistic and practical solution, and think about the criteria you'll use to choose between potential solutions.

Paired Comparison Analysis , Decision Matrix Analysis and Risk Analysis are useful techniques here, as are many of the specialist resources available within our Decision-Making section . Enjoy exploring these!

Step 6: Plan (Questions 1, 16)

You might think that choosing a solution is the end of a problem-solving process. In fact, it's simply the start of the next phase in problem solving: implementation. This involves lots of planning and preparation. If you haven't already developed a full Risk Analysis in the evaluation phase, do so now. It's important to know what to be prepared for as you begin to roll out your proposed solution.

The type of planning that you need to do depends on the size of the implementation project that you need to set up. For small projects, all you'll often need are Action Plans that outline who will do what, when, and how. Larger projects need more sophisticated approaches – you'll find out more about these in the article What is Project Management? And for projects that affect many other people, you'll need to think about Change Management as well.

Here, it can be useful to conduct an Impact Analysis to help you identify potential resistance as well as alert you to problems you may not have anticipated. Force Field Analysis will also help you uncover the various pressures for and against your proposed solution. Once you've done the detailed planning, it can also be useful at this stage to make a final Go/No-Go Decision , making sure that it's actually worth going ahead with the selected option.

Step 7: Sell the Idea (Questions 5, 8)

As part of the planning process, you must convince other stakeholders that your solution is the best one. You'll likely meet with resistance, so before you try to “sell” your idea, make sure you've considered all the consequences.

As you begin communicating your plan, listen to what people say, and make changes as necessary. The better the overall solution meets everyone's needs, the greater its positive impact will be! For more tips on selling your idea, read our article on Creating a Value Proposition and use our Sell Your Idea Skillbook.

Step 8: Act (Questions 2, 11)

Finally, once you've convinced your key stakeholders that your proposed solution is worth running with, you can move on to the implementation stage. This is the exciting and rewarding part of problem solving, which makes the whole process seem worthwhile.

This action stage is an end, but it's also a beginning: once you've completed your implementation, it's time to move into the next cycle of problem solving by returning to the scanning stage. By doing this, you'll continue improving your organization as you move into the future.

Problem solving is an exceptionally important workplace skill.

Being a competent and confident problem solver will create many opportunities for you. By using a well-developed model like Simplexity Thinking for solving problems, you can approach the process systematically, and be comfortable that the decisions you make are solid.

Given the unpredictable nature of problems, it's very reassuring to know that, by following a structured plan, you've done everything you can to resolve the problem to the best of your ability.

This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only. It is just one of many Mind Tool quizzes that can help you to evaluate your abilities in a wide range of important career skills.

If you want to reproduce this quiz, you can purchase downloadable copies in our Store .

You've accessed 1 of your 2 free resources.

Get unlimited access

Discover more content

4 logical fallacies.

Avoid Common Types of Faulty Reasoning

Problem Solving

Add comment

Comments (2)

Afkar Hashmi

😇 This tool is very useful for me.

over 1 year

Very impactful

Get 20% off your first year of Mind Tools

Our on-demand e-learning resources let you learn at your own pace, fitting seamlessly into your busy workday. Join today and save with our limited time offer!

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Most Popular

Newest Releases

Team Management Skills

5 Phrases That Kill Collaboration

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

How do i manage a hybrid team.

Adjusting your management style to a hybrid world

The Life Career Rainbow

Finding a Work-Life Balance That Suits You

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

Get out of your own way at work: and help others to do the same.

Mark Goulston

Book Insights

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Team Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Decision Making

Pain Points

Creativity and Innovation pp 117–147 Cite as

Creative Problem-Solving

• Terence Lee 4 ,
• Lauren O’Mahony 5 &
• Pia Lebeck 6  
• First Online: 29 January 2023

496 Accesses

This chapter presents Alex Osborn’s 1953 creative problem-solving (CPS) model as a three-procedure approach that can be deployed to problems that emerge in our everyday lives. The three procedures are fact-finding, idea-finding and solution-finding, with each step carefully informed by both divergent and convergent thinking. Using case studies to elaborate on the efficacy of CPS, the chapter also identifies a few common flaws that can impact on creativity and innovation. This chapter explores the challenges posed by ‘wicked problems’ that are particularly challenging in that they are ill-defined, unique, contradictory, multi-causal and recurring; it considers the practical importance of building team environments, of embracing diversity and difference, and other characteristics of effective teams. The chapter builds conceptually and practically on the earlier chapters, especially Chapter 4 , and provides case studies to help make sense of the key principles of creative problem-solving.

• Creative problem-solving
• Fact-finding
• Idea-finding
• Solution-finding
• Divergent thinking
• Convergent thinking
• Wicked problems

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

The creative problem-solving process explored in this chapter is not to be confused with the broader ‘creative process’ that is presented in Chapter 2 of this book. See Chapter 2 to understand what creative process entails.

A general online search of the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) process will generate many results. One of them is: https://projectbliss.net/osborn-parnes-creative-problem-solving-process/ . Osborn is largely credited as the creator of CPS, hence references are largely made to him (Osborn 1953 , 1957 ).

Founded in 2002, Fahrenheit 212 described itself as “a global innovation consultancy delivering sustainable, profitable growth for companies by pairing business acumen and consumer empathy.” It merged with Capgemini Consulting in 2016 and remains based in New York City, USA. ( https://www.capgemini.com/in-en/news/press-releases/capgemini-acquires-innovation-and-design-consultancy-fahrenheit-212-to-drive/ ).

More information on the NeoNurture incubator can be found in the Design That Matters website ( https://www.designthatmatters.org/ ) and in a TEDx presentation by Timothy Prestero ( https://www.ted.com/talks/timothy_prestero_design_for_people_not_awards ) (Prestero 2012 ).

For more information on the Embrace infant warmer, see Embrace Global: https://www.embraceglobal.org/ .

See also David Alger’s popular descriptions of the ‘Rules of Improv’ (Parts 1 and 2): https://www.pantheater.com/rules-of-improv.html ; and, ‘How to be a better improvisor’: https://www.pantheater.com/how-to-be-a-better-improvisor.html .

For more information about the Bay of Pigs, visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Online information can be accessed here: https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs .

Bhat, R. 2021. Solving Wicked Problems Is What MBA Programs Need to Prepare the Students For? Business World Education . May 20. Available: http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/Solving-Wicked-Problems-Is-What-MBA-Programs-Need-To-Prepare-The-Students-For-/20-05-2021-390302/. Accessed 30 August 2022.

Bratton, J., et al. 2010. Work and Organizational Behaviour , 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Book   Google Scholar  

Buzan, T. 1974. Use Your Head . London: BBC Active.

Google Scholar  

Cohen, A.K., and J.R. Cromwell. 2021. How to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic with More Creativity and Innovation. Population Health Management 24 (2): 153–155.

Article   Google Scholar  

Cunningham, E., B. Smyth, and D. Greene. 2021. Collaboration in the Time of COVID: A Scientometric Analysis of Multidisciplinary SARSCoV-2 Research. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications. 8 (240): 1–8.

Cunningham, S. 2021. Sitting with Difficult Things: Meaningful Action in Contested Times. Griffith Review 71 (February): 124–133.

De Bono, E. 1985. Six Thinking Hats . Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Dutta, K. 2018. Solving Wicked Problems: Searching for the Critical Cognitive Trait. The International Journal of Management Education 16 (3): 493–503.

Elia, G., and A. Margherita. 2018. Can we Solve Wicked Problems? A Conceptual Framework and a Collective Intelligence System to Support Problem Analysis and Solution Design for Complex Social Issues. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 133: 279–286.

Engler, J.O., D.J. Abson, and H. von Wehrden. 2021. The Coronavirus Pandemic as an Analogy for Future Sustainability. Sustainability Science 16: 317–319.

Grivas, C., and G. Puccio. 2012. The Innovative Team: Unleashing Creative Potential for Breakthrough Results . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Holmes, K. 2021. Generation Covid: Crafting History and Collective Memory. Griffith Review 71 (February): 79–88.

Kapoor, H., and J.C. Kaufman. 2020. Meaning-Making Through Creativity During COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology 18 (December): 1–8.

Kelley, T. 2001. The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm . New York, NY: Random House.

Kite-Powell, J. 2014. Simple Tech Creates Infant-Warmer to Save Lives in Developing Countries. Forbes , 29 January. Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2014/01/29/simple-tech-creates-infant-warmer-to-save-lives-in-developing-countries/?sh=df540aa758c1. Accessed 31 August 2022.

May, M. 2009. In Pursuit of Elegance . NY: Broadway Books.

McShane, S., M. Olekalns, and T. Travaglione. 2010. Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim , 3rd ed. Sydney: McGraw Hill.

Osborn, A. 1953. Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking . New York: Scribners.

Osborn, A. 1957. Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking , 10th ed. New York: Scribners.

Page, S.E. 2007. The Difference: How the power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Page, S.E. 2011. Diversity and Complexity . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Page, S.E. 2012. The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset . Chantilly, Virginia: The Great Courses.

Payne, M. 2014. How to Kill a Unicorn: How the World’s Hottest Innovation Factory Builds Bold Ideas That Make It to Market . New York: Crown Business.

Potter, A., M. McClure, and K. Sellers. 2010. Mass Collaboration Problem Solving: A New Approach to Wicked Problems. Proceedings of 2010 International Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems . IEEE Explore, Chicago, Illinois. May 17–21: 398–407.

Prestero, T. 2012. Design for People, Not Awards. TEDxBoston . Available: https://www.ted.com/speakers/timothy_prestero. Accessed 30 August 2022.

Proctor, T. 2013. Creative Problem Solving for Managers: Developing Skills for Decision Making and Managers , 4th ed. New York: Routledge.

Puccio, G.J. 2012. Creativity Rising: Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the 21st Century . Buffalo, NY: ICSC Press.

Rittel, H.W.J., and M.M. Webber. 1973. Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences 4 (2), June: 155–169.

Roberto, M. 2009. The Art of Critical Decision Making: The Great Courses. Chantilly, Virginia: The Teaching Company.

Roy, A. 2020. Arundhati Roy: “The Pandemic is a Portal”. Financial Times , April 4. Available: https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8-74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca . Accessed 28 February 2022.

Ruggiero, V.R. 2009. The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought , 9th ed. New York: Longman.

Sawyer, K. 2007. Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration . New York: Basic Books.

Schuelke-Leech, B. 2021. A Problem Taxonomy for Engineering. IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society 2 (2), June: 105.

Stellar, D. 2010. The PlayPump: What Went Wrong? State of the Planet, Columbia Climate School. Columbia University. Available: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2010/07/01/the-playpump-what-went-wrong/. Accessed 30 August 2022.

Surowiecki, J. 2004. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Businesses, Economies, Societies and Nations . New York: Anchor Books.

Sweet, C., H. Blythe, and R. Carpenter. 2021. Creativity in the Time of COVID-19: Three Principles. The National Teaching and Learning Forum. 30 (5): 6–8.

Taibbi, R. 2011. The Tao of Improv: 5 Rules for Improvising Your Life. Psychology Today , 25 January. Available: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-families/201101/the-tao-improv-5-rules-improvising-your-life. Accessed 1 September 2022.

Walton, M. 2010. Playpump is Not a Panacea for Africa’s Water Problems. Circle of Blue , July 24. Available: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/playpump-not-a-panacea-for-africas-water-problems/. Accessed 30 August 2022.

World Health Organization (WHO). 2022. Child Mortality (Under 5 Years). Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/levels-and-trends-in-child-under-5-mortality-in-2020. Accessed 28 February 2022.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Humanities and Social Sciences, Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, Perth, WA, Australia

Terence Lee

Media and Communication, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia

Lauren O’Mahony

Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Terence Lee .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Lee, T., O’Mahony, L., Lebeck, P. (2023). Creative Problem-Solving. In: Creativity and Innovation. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8880-6_5

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8880-6_5

Published : 29 January 2023

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-19-8879-0

Online ISBN : 978-981-19-8880-6

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• A Step-by-Step Guide to A3 Problem Solving Methodology
• Learn Lean Sigma
• Problem Solving

Problem-solving is an important component of any business or organization. It entails identifying, analyzing, and resolving problems in order to improve processes, drive results, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. A3 Problem solving is one of the most effective problem-solving methodologies.

A3 Problem solving is a structured and systematic approach to problem-solving that originated with the lean manufacturing methodology. It visualizes the problem-solving process using a one-page document known as an A3 report. The A3 report provides an overview of the problem, data analysis, root causes, solutions, and results in a clear and concise manner.

A3 Problem Solving has numerous advantages, including improved communication, better decision-making, increased efficiency, and reduced waste. It is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and industries, and it is especially useful for solving complex and multi-faceted problems.

In this blog post, we will walk you through the A3 Problem Solving methodology step by step. Whether you are new to A3 Problem Solving or simply want to improve your skills, this guide will help you understand and apply the process in your workplace.

Table of Contents

What is a3 problem solving.

A3 Problem Solving is a structured and systematic approach to problem-solving that makes use of a one-page document called an A3 report to visually represent the process. The A3 report provides an overview of the problem, data analysis, root causes, solutions, and results in a clear and concise manner. The method was created within the framework of the Lean manufacturing methodology and is based on the principles of continuous improvement and visual management.

Looking for a A3 Problem solving template? Click here

Origin and History of A3 Problem Solving

A3 Problem Solving was developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and was first used in the manufacture of automobiles. The term “A3” refers to the size of the paper used to create the report, which is an ISO standard known as “A3”. The goal of the A3 report is to provide a visual representation of the problem-solving process that all members of the organisation can easily understand and share. A3 Problem Solving has been adopted by organisations in a variety of industries over the years, and it has become a widely used and recognised method for problem-solving.

Key Principles of A3 Problem Solving

The following are the key principles of A3 Problem Solving:

• Define the problem clearly and concisely
• Gather and analyze data to gain a deep understanding of the problem
• Identify the root causes of the problem
• Develop and implement effective solutions
• Evaluate results and continuously improve

These principles serve as the foundation of the A3 Problem Solving methodology and are intended to assist organisations in continuously improving and achieving their objectives. Organizations can effectively solve problems, identify areas for improvement, and drive results by adhering to these principles.

Step 1: Define the Problem

Importance of clearly defining the problem.

The first step in the A3 Problem Solving process is critical because it lays the groundwork for the remaining steps. To define the problem clearly and accurately, you must first understand the problem and identify the underlying root cause. This step is critical because if the problem is not correctly defined, the rest of the process will be based on incorrect information, and the solution developed may not address the issue effectively.

The significance of defining the problem clearly cannot be overstated. It aids in the collection and analysis of relevant data, which is critical for developing effective solutions. When the problem is clearly defined, the data gathered is more relevant and targeted, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the issue. This will enable the development of solutions that are more likely to be effective because they are founded on a thorough and accurate understanding of the problem.

However, if the problem is not clearly defined, the data gathered may be irrelevant or incorrect, resulting in incorrect conclusions and ineffective solutions. Furthermore, the process of collecting and analysing data can become time-consuming and inefficient, resulting in resource waste. Furthermore, if the problem is not accurately defined, the solutions developed may fail to address the root cause of the problem, resulting in ongoing issues and a lack of improvement.

Techniques for Defining the Problem

The first step in the A3 Problem Solving process is to clearly and accurately define the problem. This is an important step because a clearly defined problem will help to ensure that the appropriate data is collected and solutions are developed. If the problem is not clearly defined, incorrect data may be collected, solutions that do not address the root cause of the problem, and time and resources may be wasted.

A problem can be defined using a variety of techniques, including brainstorming , root cause analysis , process mapping , and Ishikawa diagrams . Each of these techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages and can be used in a variety of situations depending on the nature of the problem.

Best Practice for Defining the Problem

In addition to brainstorming, root cause analysis, process mapping, and Ishikawa diagram s, best practices should be followed when defining a problem in A3 Problem Solving. Among these best practices are:

• Define the issue in a specific and quantifiable way: It is critical to be specific and concise when defining the problem, as well as to quantify the problem in terms of its impact. This will help to ensure that all stakeholders understand the problem and that data collection is focused on the right areas.
• Focus on the problem’s root cause: The A3 Problem Solving methodology is intended to assist organisations in identifying and addressing the root cause of a problem, rather than just the symptoms. Organizations can ensure that their solutions are effective and long-lasting by focusing on the root cause of the problem.
• Ascertain that all stakeholders agree on the problem’s definition: All stakeholders must agree on the definition of the problem for the A3 Problem Solving process to be effective. This ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal and that the solutions developed are relevant and appropriate.
• Consider the problem’s impact on the organisation and its stakeholders: It is critical to consider the impact of the problem on the organisation and its stakeholders when defining it. This will assist in ensuring that the appropriate data is gathered and that the solutions developed are relevant and appropriate.

Organizations can ensure that their problem is defined in a way that allows for effective data collection, analysis, and solution development by following these best practices. This will aid in the development of appropriate solutions and the effective resolution of the problem, resulting in improvements in the organization’s processes and outcomes.

Step 2: Gather Data

Gathering data in a3 problem solving.

Data collection is an important step in the A3 Problem Solving process because it allows organisations to gain a thorough understanding of the problem they are attempting to solve. This step entails gathering pertinent information about the problem, such as data on its origin, impact, and any related factors. This information is then used to help identify root causes and develop effective solutions.

One of the most important advantages of data collection in A3 Problem Solving is that it allows organisations to identify patterns and trends in data, which can be useful in determining the root cause of the problem. This information can then be used to create effective solutions that address the problem’s root cause rather than just its symptoms.

In A3 Problem Solving, data collection is a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders, including those directly impacted by the problem and those with relevant expertise or experience. Stakeholders can ensure that all relevant information is collected and that the data is accurate and complete by working together.

Overall, data collection is an important step in the A3 Problem Solving process because it serves as the foundation for effective problem-solving. Organizations can gain a deep understanding of the problem they are attempting to solve and develop effective solutions that address its root cause by collecting and analysing relevant data.

Data Collection Methods

In A3 Problem Solving, several data collection methods are available, including:

• Observations
• Process diagrams

The best data collection method will be determined by the problem being solved and the type of data required. To gain a complete understanding of the problem, it is critical to use multiple data collection methods.

Tools for Data Analysis and Visualization

Once the data has been collected, it must be analysed and visualised in order to gain insights into the problem. This process can be aided by the following tools:

• Excel Spreadsheets
• Flow diagrams
• Pareto diagrams
• Scatter Plots
• Control diagrams

These tools can assist in organising data and making it easier to understand. They can also be used to generate visual representations of data, such as graphs and charts, to communicate the findings to others.

Finally, the data collection and analysis step is an important part of the A3 Problem Solving process. Organizations can gain a better understanding of the problem and develop effective solutions by collecting and analysing relevant data.

Step 3: Identify Root Causes

Identifying the root causes of the problem is the third step in the A3 Problem Solving process. This step is critical because it assists organisations in understanding the root causes of a problem rather than just its symptoms. Once the underlying cause of the problem is identified, it can be addressed more effectively, leading to more long-term solutions.

Overview of the Root Cause Analysis Process

The process of determining the underlying causes of a problem is known as root cause analysis. This process can assist organisations in determining why a problem is occurring and what can be done to prevent it from recurring in the future. The goal of root cause analysis is to identify the underlying cause of a problem rather than just its symptoms, allowing it to be addressed more effectively.

To understand Root cause analysis in more detail check out RCA in our Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Course Root Cause Analysis section

Techniques for Identifying Root Causes

There are several techniques for determining the root causes of a problem, including:

• Brainstorming
• Ishikawa diagrams (also known as fishbone diagrams)
• Root Cause Tree Analysis

These methods can be used to investigate the issue in-depth and identify potential root causes. Organizations can gain a deeper understanding of the problem and identify the underlying causes that must be addressed by using these techniques.

Best Practices for Conducting Root Cause Analysis

It is critical to follow these best practices when conducting root cause analysis in A3 Problem Solving:

• Make certain that all stakeholders participate in the root cause analysis process.
• Concentrate on determining the root cause of the problem rather than just its symptoms.
• Take into account all potential root causes, not just the most obvious ones.
• To identify root causes, use a systematic approach, such as the 5 Whys or root cause tree analysis.

Organizations can ensure that root cause analysis is carried out effectively and that the root cause of the problem is identified by adhering to these best practises. This will aid in the development of appropriate solutions and the effective resolution of the problem.

Step 4: Develop Solutions

Developing solutions is the fourth step in the A3 Problem Solving process. This entails generating ideas and options for dealing with the problem, followed by selecting the best solution. The goal is to develop a solution that addresses the root cause of the problem and prevents it from recurring.

Solution Development in A3 Problem Solving

A3 solution development Problem solving is an iterative process in which options are generated and evaluated. The data gathered in the previous steps, as well as the insights and understanding gained from the root cause analysis, guide this process. The solution should be based on a thorough understanding of the problem and address the underlying cause.

Techniques for Developing Solutions

There are several techniques that can be used to develop solutions in A3 Problem Solving, including:

• Brainwriting
• Solution matrix
• Multi voting
• Force field analysis

These techniques can help to generate a range of options and to select the best solution.

Best Practice for Developing Solutions

It is critical to follow the following best practices when developing solutions in A3 Problem Solving:

• Participate in the solution development process with all stakeholders.
• Make certain that the solution addresses the underlying cause of the problem.
• Make certain that the solution is feasible and achievable.
• Consider the solution’s impact on the organisation and its stakeholders.

Organizations can ensure that the solutions they develop are effective and sustainable by adhering to these best practises. This will help to ensure that the problem is addressed effectively and that it does not reoccur.

Step 5: Implement Solutions

The final and most important step in the A3 Problem Solving methodology is solution implementation. This is the stage at which the identified and developed solutions are put into action to address the problem. This step’s goal is to ensure that the solutions are effective, efficient, and long-lasting.

The implementation Process

The implementation process entails putting the solutions developed in the previous step into action. This could include changes to processes, procedures, and systems, as well as employee training and education. To ensure that the solutions are effective, the implementation process should be well-planned and meticulously executed.

Techniques for Implementing Solutions

A3 Problem Solving solutions can be implemented using a variety of techniques, including:

• Piloting the solution on a small scale before broadening its application
• Participating in the implementation process with all relevant stakeholders
• ensuring that the solution is in line with the goals and objectives of the organisation
• Monitoring the solution to determine its effectiveness and make any necessary changes

Best Practice for Implementing Solutions

It is critical to follow these best practices when implementing solutions in A3 Problem Solving:

Make certain that all relevant stakeholders are involved and supportive of the solution. Have a clear implementation plan that outlines the steps, timeline, and resources required. Continuously monitor and evaluate the solution to determine its efficacy and make any necessary changes. Encourage all stakeholders to communicate and collaborate openly. Organizations can ensure that solutions are effectively implemented and problems are effectively addressed by adhering to these best practices. The ultimate goal is to find a long-term solution to the problem and improve the organization’s overall performance.

In conclusion, A3 Problem Solving is a comprehensive and structured methodology for problem-solving that can be applied in various industries and organisations. The A3 Problem Solving process’s five steps – Define the Problem, Gather Data, Identify Root Causes, Develop Solutions, and Implement Solutions – provide a road map for effectively addressing problems and making long-term improvements.

Organizations can improve their problem-solving skills and achieve better results by following the key principles, techniques, and best practices outlined in this guide. As a result, both the organisation and its stakeholders will benefit from increased efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. So, whether you’re an experienced problem solver or just getting started, consider incorporating the A3 Problem Solving methodology into your work and start reaping the benefits right away.

Daniel Croft

Daniel Croft is a seasoned continuous improvement manager with a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. With over 10 years of real-world application experience across diverse sectors, Daniel has a passion for optimizing processes and fostering a culture of efficiency. He's not just a practitioner but also an avid learner, constantly seeking to expand his knowledge. Outside of his professional life, Daniel has a keen Investing, statistics and knowledge-sharing, which led him to create the website learnleansigma.com, a platform dedicated to Lean Six Sigma and process improvement insights.

Free Lean Six Sigma Templates

Improve your Lean Six Sigma projects with our free templates. They're designed to make implementation and management easier, helping you achieve better results.

5S Floor Marking Best Practices

In lean manufacturing, the 5S System is a foundational tool, involving the steps: Sort, Set…

How to Measure the ROI of Continuous Improvement Initiatives

When it comes to business, knowing the value you’re getting for your money is crucial,…

8D Problem-Solving: Common Mistakes to Avoid

In today’s competitive business landscape, effective problem-solving is the cornerstone of organizational success. The 8D…

The Evolution of 8D Problem-Solving: From Basics to Excellence

In a world where efficiency and effectiveness are more than just buzzwords, the need for…

8D: Tools and Techniques

Are you grappling with recurring problems in your organization and searching for a structured way…

How to Select the Right Lean Six Sigma Projects: A Comprehensive Guide

Going on a Lean Six Sigma journey is an invigorating experience filled with opportunities for…

• Search Search Search …
• Search Search …

Taking a systems thinking approach to problem solving

Systems thinking is an approach that considers a situation or problem holistically and as part of an overall system which is more than the sum of its parts. Taking the big picture perspective, and looking more deeply at underpinnings, systems thinking seeks and offers long-term and fundamental solutions rather than quick fixes and surface change.

Whether in environmental science, organizational change management, or geopolitics, some problems are so large, so complicated and so enduring that it’s hard to know where to begin when seeking a solution.

A systems thinking approach might be the ideal way to tackle essentially systemic problems. Our article sets out the basic concepts and ideas.

What is systems thinking?

Systems thinking is an approach that views an issue or problem as part of a wider, dynamic system. It entails accepting the system as an entity in its own right rather than just the sum of its parts, as well as understanding how individual elements of a system influence one another.

When we consider the concepts of a car, or a human being we are using a systems thinking perspective. A car is not just a collection of nuts, bolts, panels and wheels. A human being is not simply an assembly of bones, muscles, organs and blood.

In a systems thinking approach, as well as the specific issue or problem in question, you must also look at its wider place in an overall system, the nature of relationships between that issue and other elements of the system, and the tensions and synergies that arise from the various elements and their interactions.

The history of systems thinking is itself innately complex, with roots in many important disciplines of the 20th century including biology, computing and data science. As a discipline, systems thinking is still evolving today.

How can systems thinking be applied to problem solving?

A systems thinking approach to problem solving recognizes the problem as part of a wider system and addresses the whole system in any solution rather than just the problem area.

A popular way of applying a systems thinking lens is to examine the issue from multiple perspectives, zooming out from single and visible elements to the bigger and broader picture (e.g. via considering individual events, and then the patterns, structures and mental models which give rise to them).

Systems thinking is best applied in fields where problems and solutions are both high in complexity. There are a number of characteristics that can make an issue particularly compatible with a systems thinking approach:

• The issue has high impact for many people.
• The issue is long-term or chronic rather than a one-off incident.
• There is no obvious solution or answer to the issue and previous attempts to solve it have failed.
• We have a good knowledge of the issue’s environment and history through which we can sensibly place it in a systems context.

If your problem does not have most of these characteristics, systems thinking analysis may not work well in solving it.

Areas where systems thinking is often useful include health, climate change, urban planning, transport or ecology.

What is an example of a systems thinking approach to problem solving?

A tool called the iceberg mode l can be useful in learning to examine issues from a systems thinking perspective. This model frames an issue as an iceberg floating in a wider sea, with one small section above the water and three large sections unseen below.

The very tip of the iceberg, visible above the waterline, shows discrete events or occurrences which are easily seen and understood. For example, successive failures of a political party to win national elections.

Beneath the waterline and invisible, lie deeper and longer-term trends or patterns of behavior. In our example this might be internal fighting in the political party which overshadows and obstructs its public campaigning and weakens its leadership and reputation.

Even deeper under the water we can find underlying causes and supporting structures which underpin the patterns and trends.

For our failing political party, this could mean party rules and processes which encourage internal conflict and division rather than resolving them, and put off the best potential candidates from standing for the party in elections.

The electoral system in the country may also be problematic or unfair, making the party so fearful and defensive against losing its remaining support base, that it has no energy or cash to campaign on a more positive agenda and win new voters.

Mental models

At the very base of the iceberg, deepest under the water, lie the mental models that allow the rest of the iceberg to persist in this shape. These include the assumptions, attitudes, beliefs and motivations which drive the behaviors, patterns and events seen further up in the iceberg.

In this case, this could be the belief amongst senior party figures that they’ve won in the past and can therefore win again someday by repeating old campaigns. Or a widespread attitude amongst activists in all party wings that with the right party leader, all internal problems will melt away and voter preferences will turn overnight.

When is a systems thinking approach not helpful?

If you are looking for a quick answer to a simple question, or an immediate response to a single event, then systems thinking may overcomplicate the process of solving your problem and provide you with more information than is helpful, and in slower time than you need.

For example, if a volcano erupts and the local area needs to be immediately evacuated, applying a thorough systems thinking approach to life in the vicinity of an active volcano is unlikely to result in a more efficient crisis response or save more lives. After the event, systems thinking might be more constructive when considering town rebuilding, local logistics and transport links.

In general, if a problem is short-term, narrow and/or linear, systems thinking may not be the right model of thinking to use.

A final word…

The biggest problems in the real world are rarely simple in nature and expecting a quick and simple solution to something like climate change or cancer would be naive.

If you’d like to know more about applying systems thinking in real life there are many online resources, books and courses you can access, including in specific fields (e.g. FutureLearn’s course on Understanding Systems Thinking in Healthcare ).

Whether you think of it as zooming out to the big picture while retaining a focus on the small, or looking deeper under the water at the full shape of the iceberg, systems thinking can be a powerful tool for finding solutions that recognize the interactions and interdependence of individual elements in the real world.

You may also like

Systems Thinking for School Leaders: A Comprehensive Approach to Educational Management

Systems thinking is a powerful approach that school leaders can harness to navigate the complex landscape of education. With increasing challenges, such […]

How Systems Thinking Enhances Decision Making Skills: A Quick Guide

In today’s complex world, effective decision-making skills are more important than ever. One powerful approach to enhance these skills is through the […]

5 Ways to Apply Systems Thinking to Your Business Operations: A Strategic Guide

In today’s fast-paced business world, success depends on the ability to stay agile, resilient, and relevant. This is where systems thinking, an […]

Exploring Critical Thinking vs. Systems Thinking

There are many differences between Critical Thinking vs Systems Thinking. Critical Thinking involves examining and challenging thoughts or ideas, while Systems Thinking […]

BUS403: Negotiations and Conflict Management

Problem-Solving and Decision-Making in Groups

This text summarizes common characteristics of problems and the five steps in group problem-solving. The reading describes brainstorming and discussions that should occur before group decision-making, compares and contrasts decision-making techniques, and explores various influences on decision-making. The section "Getting Competent" emphasizes the need for leaders and managers to delegate tasks and responsibilities as they identify specialized skills among their teams and employees.

Group Problem-Solving Process

Group problem-solving can be a confusing puzzle unless it is approached systematically.

There are several variations of similar problem-solving models based on American scholar John Dewey's reflective thinking process. As you read through the steps in the process, think about how you can apply what we learned regarding the general and specific elements of problems. Some of the following steps are straightforward, and they are things we would logically do when faced with a problem.

However, taking a deliberate and systematic approach to problem-solving has been shown to benefit group functioning and performance. A deliberate approach is especially beneficial for groups that do not have an established history of working together and will only be able to meet occasionally.

Although a group should attend to each step of the process, group leaders or other group members who facilitate problem-solving should be cautious not to dogmatically follow each element of the process or force a group along. Such a lack of flexibility could limit group member input and negatively affect cohesion and climate.

Step 1: Define the Problem

Define the problem by considering the three elements shared by every problem: the current undesirable situation, the goal or more desirable situation, and obstacles. At this stage, group members share what they know about the current situation, without proposing solutions or evaluating the information.

Here are some good questions to ask during this stage: What is the current difficulty? How did we come to know that the difficulty exists? Who/what is involved? Why is it meaningful/urgent/important? What have the effects been so far? What, if any, elements of the difficulty require clarification?

At the end of this stage, the group should be able to compose a single sentence that summarizes the problem called a problem statement . Avoid wording in the problem statement or question that hints at potential solutions. A small group formed to investigate ethical violations of city officials could use the following problem statement: "Our state does not currently have a mechanism for citizens to report suspected ethical violations by city officials".

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

During this step a group should analyze the problem and the group's relationship to the problem. Whereas the first step involved exploring the "what" related to the problem, this step focuses on the "why." At this stage, group members can discuss the potential causes of the difficulty. Group members may also want to begin setting an agenda or timeline for the group's problem-solving process, looking forward to the other steps.

To fully analyze the problem, the group can discuss the five common problem variables discussed before. Here are two examples of questions that the group formed to address ethics violations might ask: Why doesn't our city have an ethics reporting mechanism? Do cities of similar size have such a mechanism? Once the problem has been analyzed, the group can pose a problem question that will guide the group as it generates possible solutions. "How can citizens report suspected ethical violations of city officials and how will such reports be processed and addressed?" As you can see, the problem question is more complex than the problem statement, since the group has moved on to more in-depth discussion of the problem during step 2.

Step 3: Generate Possible Solutions

During this step, group members generate possible solutions to the problem. Again, solutions should not be evaluated at this point, only proposed and clarified. The question should be, "What could we do to address this problem?" not "What should we do to address it?" It is perfectly OK for a group member to question another person's idea by asking something like "What do you mean?" or "Could you explain your reasoning more?"

Discussions at this stage may reveal a need to return to previous steps to better define or more fully analyze a problem. Since many problems are multifaceted, group members must generate solutions for each part of the problem separately, ensuring multiple solutions for each part. Stopping the solution-generating process prematurely can lead to groupthink. For the problem question previously posed, the group would need to generate solutions for all three parts of the problem included in the question.

Possible solutions for the first part of the problem (how can citizens report ethical violations?) may include an "online reporting system, email, in-person, anonymously, on-the-record," and so on.

Possible solutions for the second part of the problem (how will reports be processed?) may include "daily by a newly appointed ethics officer, weekly by a nonpartisan nongovernment employee," and so on. Possible solutions for the third part of the problem (how will reports be addressed?) may include "by a newly appointed ethics commission, by the accused's supervisor, by the city manager," and so on.

Step 4: Evaluate Solutions

During this step, solutions can be critically evaluated based on their credibility, completeness, and worth. Once the potential solutions have been narrowed based on more obvious differences in relevance and/or merit, the group should analyze each solution based on its potential effects – especially negative effects. Groups that are required to report the rationale for their decision or whose decisions may be subject to public scrutiny would be wise to make a set list of criteria for evaluating each solution. Additionally, solutions can be evaluated based on how well they fit with the group's charge and the group's abilities.

To do this, group members may ask, "Does this solution live up to the original purpose or mission of the group?" "Can the solution be implemented with our current resources and connections?" and "How will this solution be supported, funded, enforced, and assessed?" Secondary tensions and substantive conflict, two concepts discussed earlier, emerge during this step of problem-solving, and group members will need to employ effective critical thinking and listening skills. Decision-making is part of the larger problem-solving process, and it plays a prominent role in this step. While there are several fairly similar models for problem-solving, there are many varied decision-making techniques that groups can use.

For example, to narrow the proposed solutions, group members may decide by majority vote, by weighing the pros and cons, or by discussing them until a consensus is reached. There are also more complex decision-making models like the "six hats method," which we will discuss later. Once the final decision is reached, the group leader or facilitator should confirm that the group is in agreement. It may be beneficial to let the group break for a while or even to delay the final decision until a later meeting to allow people time to evaluate it outside of the group context.

Step 5: Implement and Assess the Solution

Implementing the solution requires some advanced planning, and it should not be rushed unless the group is operating under strict time restraints or delay may lead to some kind of harm. Although some solutions can be implemented immediately, others may take days, months, or years. As was noted earlier, it may be beneficial for groups to poll those affected by the solution to their opinion or even to do a pilot test to observe the solution's effectiveness and how people react to it.

Before implementation, groups should also determine how and when they would assess the solution's effectiveness by asking, "How will we know if the solution is working?" Since solution assessment will vary based on whether or not the group is disbanded, groups should also consider the following questions: If the group disbands after implementation, who will be responsible for assessing the solution? If the solution fails, will the same group reconvene or will a new group be formed?

Once a solution has been reached and the group has the "green light" to implement it, it should proceed deliberately and cautiously, making sure to consider possible consequences and address them as needed. Certain elements of the solution may need to be delegated to various people inside and outside the group. Group members may also be assigned to implement a particular part of the solution based on their role in the decision-making or because it connects to their expertise. Likewise, group members may be tasked with publicizing the solution or "selling" it to a particular group of stakeholders. Last, the group should consider its future. In some cases, the group will get to decide if it will stay together and continue working on other tasks or if it will disband. In other cases, outside forces determine the group's fate.

Getting Competent

Giving a group presentation requires that individual group members and the group solve many problems and make many decisions. Although having more people involved in a presentation increases logistical difficulties and has the potential to create more conflict, a well-prepared and well-delivered group presentation can be more engaging and effective than a typical presentation.

The main problems facing a group giving a presentation are (1) dividing responsibilities, (2) coordinating schedules and time management, and (3) working out the logistics of the presentation delivery.

Regarding dividing responsibilities, assigning individual work at the first meeting and then trying to fit it all together before the presentation (which is what many college students do when faced with a group project) is not the recommended method. Integrating content and visual aids created by several different people into a seamless final product takes time and effort, and the person "stuck" with this job at the end usually ends up developing some resentment toward his or her group members.

While it is OK for group members to work independently outside of group meetings, spend time working together to help set up some standards for content and formatting expectations that will help make later integration of work easier. Taking the time to complete one part of the presentation together can help set those standards for later individual work.

Discuss the roles various group members will play openly to avoid role confusion. There could be one point person for keeping track of the group's progress and schedule, one point person for communication, one point person for content integration, one point person for visual aids, and so on. Each person shouldn't do all that work on his or her own but help focus the group's attention on his or her specific area during group meetings.

Scheduling group meetings is one of the most challenging problems groups face, given people's busy lives. From the beginning, it should be communicated that the group needs to spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings. Group members should know they may have to sacrifice occasionally to attend. Especially important is the commitment to scheduling time to rehearse the presentation. Consider creating a contract of group guidelines that includes expectations for meeting attendance to increase group members' commitment.

Group presentations require members to navigate many logistics of their presentation. While it may be easier for a group to assign each member to create a five-minute segment and then transition from one person to the next, this is not the most engaging method. Creating a master presentation and assigning individual speakers creates a more fluid and dynamic presentation. It allows everyone to become familiar with the content, which can help if a person does not show up to present and during the question-and-answer section.

Once the presentation's content is complete, figure out introductions, transitions, visual aids, and the use of time and space. In terms of introductions, figure out if one person will introduce all the speakers at the beginning, if speakers will introduce themselves at the beginning, or if introductions will occur as the presentation progresses. In terms of transitions, make sure each person has included in his or her speaking notes when presentation duties switch from one person to the next. 

Visual aids can potentially cause hiccups in a group presentation if they aren't fluidly integrated. Practicing visual aids and having one person control them may help prevent this. Know how long your presentation is and know how you're going to use the space. Presenters should know how long the whole presentation should be and how long each segment should be so that everyone can share the responsibility of keeping time. Also consider the size and layout of the presentation space. You don't want presenters huddled in a corner until it's their turn to speak or trapped behind furniture when their turn comes around.

Of the three main problems facing group presenters, which do you think is the most challenging and why?

• Why do you think people tasked with a group presentation (especially students) prefer to divide the parts and have members work on them independently before coming back together and integrating each part?
• What problems emerge from this method? In what ways might developing a master presentation and then assigning parts to different speakers be better than the more divided method? What are the drawbacks to the master presentation method?

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• *New* Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

What Is Creative Problem-Solving & Why Is It Important?

• 01 Feb 2022

One of the biggest hindrances to innovation is complacency—it can be more comfortable to do what you know than venture into the unknown. Business leaders can overcome this barrier by mobilizing creative team members and providing space to innovate.

There are several tools you can use to encourage creativity in the workplace. Creative problem-solving is one of them, which facilitates the development of innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Here’s an overview of creative problem-solving and why it’s important in business.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Creative Problem-Solving?

Research is necessary when solving a problem. But there are situations where a problem’s specific cause is difficult to pinpoint. This can occur when there’s not enough time to narrow down the problem’s source or there are differing opinions about its root cause.

In such cases, you can use creative problem-solving , which allows you to explore potential solutions regardless of whether a problem has been defined.

Creative problem-solving is less structured than other innovation processes and encourages exploring open-ended solutions. It also focuses on developing new perspectives and fostering creativity in the workplace . Its benefits include:

• Finding creative solutions to complex problems : User research can insufficiently illustrate a situation’s complexity. While other innovation processes rely on this information, creative problem-solving can yield solutions without it.
• Adapting to change : Business is constantly changing, and business leaders need to adapt. Creative problem-solving helps overcome unforeseen challenges and find solutions to unconventional problems.
• Fueling innovation and growth : In addition to solutions, creative problem-solving can spark innovative ideas that drive company growth. These ideas can lead to new product lines, services, or a modified operations structure that improves efficiency.

Creative problem-solving is traditionally based on the following key principles :

1. Balance Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Creative problem-solving uses two primary tools to find solutions: divergence and convergence. Divergence generates ideas in response to a problem, while convergence narrows them down to a shortlist. It balances these two practices and turns ideas into concrete solutions.

2. Reframe Problems as Questions

By framing problems as questions, you shift from focusing on obstacles to solutions. This provides the freedom to brainstorm potential ideas.

3. Defer Judgment of Ideas

When brainstorming, it can be natural to reject or accept ideas right away. Yet, immediate judgments interfere with the idea generation process. Even ideas that seem implausible can turn into outstanding innovations upon further exploration and development.

4. Focus on "Yes, And" Instead of "No, But"

Using negative words like "no" discourages creative thinking. Instead, use positive language to build and maintain an environment that fosters the development of creative and innovative ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving and Design Thinking

Whereas creative problem-solving facilitates developing innovative ideas through a less structured workflow, design thinking takes a far more organized approach.

Design thinking is a human-centered, solutions-based process that fosters the ideation and development of solutions. In the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar leverages a four-phase framework to explain design thinking.

The four stages are:

• Clarify: The clarification stage allows you to empathize with the user and identify problems. Observations and insights are informed by thorough research. Findings are then reframed as problem statements or questions.
• Ideate: Ideation is the process of coming up with innovative ideas. The divergence of ideas involved with creative problem-solving is a major focus.
• Develop: In the development stage, ideas evolve into experiments and tests. Ideas converge and are explored through prototyping and open critique.
• Implement: Implementation involves continuing to test and experiment to refine the solution and encourage its adoption.

Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving Tools

While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving process, here are three you should know:

Creating a Problem Story

One way to innovate is by creating a story about a problem to understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their needs. Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.

1. Identify a UDP

Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For example, consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In this case, the UDP is "our printers overheat."

2. Move Forward in Time

To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?” For example, minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple problem stories if you think of more than one UDP.

3. Move Backward in Time

To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this UDP?” If you can't identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the UDP to occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause.

Following the three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear problem story:

• The printer is overused.
• The printer overheats.
• The printer breaks down.

You can extend the problem story in either direction if you think of additional cause-and-effect relationships.

4. Break the Chains

By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that are similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be accomplished through inversion or neutralization.

• Inversion: Inversion changes the relationship between two UDPs so the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite. For example, if the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen," inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely Y is to happen." Using the printer example, inversion would consider: "What if the more a printer is used, the less likely it’s going to overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just because a solution initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or spark additional ideas.
• Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation to "the more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the printers, neutralization would rephrase the relationship to "the more or less a printer is used has no effect on whether it overheats."

Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can offer useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored. Given that divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative problem-solving, it’s a good idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly discussing and debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This facilitates idea generation and exploration as different team members consider the same concept from multiple perspectives.

Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as groupthink or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step brainstorming method involving divergence and convergence :

• Have each group member come up with as many ideas as possible and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is productive.
• Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring each idea as a group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas are inspired by open discussion.
• Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few explorable options. There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid to consider exploring all of them, as long as you have the resources to do so.

Alternate Worlds

The alternate worlds tool is an empathetic approach to creative problem-solving. It encourages you to consider how someone in another world would approach your situation.

For example, if you’re concerned that the printers you produce overheat and catch fire, consider how a different industry would approach the problem. How would an automotive expert solve it? How would a firefighter?

Be creative as you consider and research alternate worlds. The purpose is not to nail down a solution right away but to continue the ideation process through diverging and exploring ideas.

Continue Developing Your Skills

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader, learning the ropes of design thinking can be an effective way to build your skills and foster creativity and innovation in any setting.

If you're ready to develop your design thinking and creative problem-solving skills, explore Design Thinking and Innovation , one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses. If you aren't sure which course is the right fit, download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

About the Author

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2023 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

What Is Systemic Therapy?

Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of "Therapy in Focus: What to Expect from CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder" and "7 Weeks to Reduce Anxiety." She has a Master's degree in psychology.

Margaret Seide, MS, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of depression, addiction, and eating disorders. 

SDI Productions / Getty Images

What Systemic Therapy Can Help With

• Effectiveness

Things to Consider

• How to Get Started

What is systemic therapy?

Systemic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on how an individual's personal relationships, behavior patterns, and life choices are interconnected with the issues they face in their life.

The concept of systemic therapy springs from systems theory, which looks at how parts of a system affect one another to sustain the stability and equilibrium of the whole.

Get Help Now

We've tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.

Types of Systemic Therapy

Therapists apply systemic theory in individual, family, and group settings. Each type takes a slightly different approach based on the systems theory model.

• Individual psychotherapy: Incorporates the theories of Sigmund Freud with those of systems theory. It works to resolve unconscious motivations and patterns of behavior that affect an individual's life, relationships, and circumstances.
• Family therapy : Examines how the family interacts as a cohesive unit and uncovers patterns that influence or impede the potential for change within the family system.
• Group therapy : Looks at how a cohesive social unit is formed and how its members interact to fulfill individual needs so the group can function successfully as a whole.

Techniques of Systemic Therapy

Below are some examples of techniques employed in systemic therapy.

• Circular questioning: Helps the therapist explore a problem from different angles to identify its core issue
• Conceptualization: Helps a therapist put a client's symptoms into a context that spans time and space, or applies to one or more family members; looks at how individual experiences fit into a larger pattern within the person, family, community, or culture
• Reframing : Explores the client's self-perceptions and offers alternatives; often used with circular questioning, which helps clients identify patterns of behavior within social contexts

Systemic therapy can help people of any age, including children. Depending on the issue, several sessions or years might be necessary to resolve problems. It's particularly useful for those who are repressing or denying emotions for fear of appearing selfish or hurting others.

For many, systemic therapy provides insights into how patterns established early in life now limit the person's options.

For example, someone uncomfortable asserting their needs and desires may suppress their feelings. As a result, they may fail to develop interpersonal skills that would help them maintain healthy relationships.

As another example, someone who never learned how to manage their anger may lash out at loved ones in increasingly destructive ways. Systemic therapy can help people address these problems and, in some cases, discover their origins.

Issues that systemic therapy can help with include:

• Addictions and substance abuse : Helps people identify factors contributing to their substance abuse and emphasizes the connection between addiction and other aspects of their lives
• Anger management : Helps individuals learn how to express anger in more positive ways that foster their relationships and interpersonal communication
• Mood disorders : Helps people with depression or bipolar disorder work through issues so they can address symptoms when they occur
• Relationship difficulties : Helps people uncover the issues sabotaging their efforts and find more effective ways of interacting
• Conduct disorder : Helps people improve impulse control, develop appropriate social skills, and understand how family dynamics influence their actions
• Anxiety : Helps people identify the origins of their fears and provides strategies to overcome them
• Eating disorders : Helps people understand feelings of inadequacy and how they affect decision-making related to food and exercise
• PTSD : Helps people understand how memories of traumatic events affect their lives
• Schizophrenia : Can help clients work through symptoms

Benefits of Systemic Therapy

Systemic therapy helps people understand how their emotional lives affect interactions.

Systemic therapy provides a safe space to talk about personal issues that are too painful or difficult to share with others. It can provide insights that other forms of counseling or therapy can fail to uncover.

Below are some benefits of systemic therapy:

• Self-understanding : People gain understanding about themselves, thereby developing healthier relationships and reaching their potentials. People actively explore their patterns of thoughts, actions, and emotions.
• Understanding of different perspectives: This awareness helps people recognize when they're being influenced and when others are trying to exert power, as well as how these interactions affect their behavior.
• Empowerment: This type of therapy empowers the individual to take charge of their life without giving up control to someone else or a professional.
• Relationship skills: People learn how to communicate, handle conflict, and resolve problems. This can help them have more loving and fulfilling relationships.
• Core beliefs: People discover negative or destructive core beliefs and behaviors, such as perfectionism or people-pleasing.
• Identification of strengths/resources: People identify their strengths and resources, which can lead to increased self-confidence and self-worth.
• Empathy: Systemic therapy can help clients develop greater empathy, which is essential for healthy relationships with parents, partners, and children.
• Learning to work together with family: Systemic therapy encourages family members to work together for the benefit of one another.

Effectiveness of Systemic Therapy

Systemic family therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for children and adolescents. However, more studies are needed to determine the best type of therapy and how well it works.

Systemic therapy can help identify how different relationships affect an individual. However, this type of therapy is not for everyone.

Below are things to consider before committing to systemic family counseling or therapy:

• Is the therapist trained in working with families?
• How much experience does the therapist have in dealing with the problems you want help with addressing?
• Is the therapist well-versed in systemic therapy?
• Does the therapist have your best interest at heart? Do you feel comfortable with them?
• What are their credentials, board certifications, and affiliations?

How to Get Started With Systemic Therapy

To get started with systemic therapy, find a licensed therapist who is well-versed in the modality. From there, you are encouraged to share your goals for working together. For example, you may want to work on improving relationships within your family or resolve problems at school. Be as specific as possible when detailing issues that need remedying.

A Word From Verywell

Systemic therapy can be an effective approach for family counseling. There is some evidence that this type of treatment is helpful in addressing relationship issues and helping people with communication skills. However, it may not be the best form of help for all individuals. It's important to explore this treatment option before committing to working with a therapist.

Varghese M, Kirpekar V, Loganathan S. Family Interventions: Basic Principles and Techniques .  Indian J Psychiatry . 2020;62(Suppl 2):S192-S200. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_770_19

Retzlaff R, von Sydow K, Beher S, Haun MW, Schweitzer J. The efficacy of systemic therapy for internalizing and other disorders of childhood and adolescence: a systematic review of 38 randomized trials .  Fam Process . 2013;52(4):619-652. doi:10.1111/famp.12041

Georgievska, S., and S. N. Josifovska. 2023. “ A SYSTEMIC FAMILY APPROACH IN WORKING WITH CHILD VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE. ”  Annual of the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje , 76 (1): 657–670. doi:10.37510/godzbo2376657g

By Arlin Cuncic, MA Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of "Therapy in Focus: What to Expect from CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder" and "7 Weeks to Reduce Anxiety." She has a Master's degree in psychology.

Volume 8 Supplement 2

Highlights from the Inaugural National Conference on American Indian and Alaska Native IVP: Bridging Science, Practice, and Culture

• Open access
• Published: 19 March 2024

American Indian and Alaska Native violence prevention efforts: a systematic review, 1980 to 2018

• Jeffrey E. Rollman 1 ,
• M. Thomas 2 ,
• Laura M. Mercer Kollar 3 ,
• Katie A. Ports 4 ,
• Carmen Clelland Cheyenne and Arapaho 5 , 6 ,
• Delight E. Satter Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde 6 &
• Corinne David-Ferdon 7  

Injury Epidemiology volume  8 , Article number:  72 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

393 Accesses

2 Altmetric

Metrics details

Violence is a serious public health concern disproportionately experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people. While the burden and impact of violence may be explained by the presence of risk factors among this group, AIAN communities benefit from unique protective factors and universal strategies which may be tailored with tribal adaptations. We sought to identify and explore violence prevention strategies specific to AIAN populations.

A review was conducted to systematically identify violence prevention programs, policies, and practices implemented in AIAN communities. We searched nine electronic databases and relevant gray literature released between January 1980 and June 2018. We included intervention-focused records targeting at least one violence topic area (child abuse/neglect, elder abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, youth violence, and suicide) in a majority (> 50%) AIAN population.

A total of 5220 non-duplicate records were screened, yielding 318 full-text records. After applying exclusion criteria, 57 records describing 60 program, policy, or practice implementations of 43 unique interventions were identified. All six violence types were represented, although more than half (58%; n  = 25/43) focused on suicide prevention. Among suicide prevention programs, the most common strategies were identifying and supporting people at risk (80%; n  = 20), teaching coping and problem-solving skills (56%; n  = 14), and promoting connectedness (48%; n  = 12). Two-thirds of the implementations (67%; n  = 40/60) were in fully (100%) AIAN communities. Programs were implemented across many settings, though schools were the most common (35%, n  = 21/60) setting. Of the 60 total implementations, a majority (80%; n  = 48) were new approaches developed by and for AIAN communities, while the remainder were AIAN adaptations of programs previously created for non-AIAN populations. Most implementations (60%; n  = 36/60) provided some evaluation data although less than half (45%; n  = 27/60) reported evaluation results.

Conclusions

This review identified many violence prevention strategies specific to AIAN populations. While programs developed in one tribe may not be completely generalizable to others, shared tribal risk and protective factors suggest programs could be successful across diverse communities. Findings indicate there is a need to develop and evaluate violence prevention programs, policies and practices for AIAN populations.

Violence in its many forms (e.g., child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder abuse, and suicide) is a serious public health issue. In 2020, over 71,000 people in the USA died as a result of violence, while approximately 2.0 million people were treated in emergency departments for violence-related injury (CDC 2021 ). Exposure to violence has lasting effects on the physical and mental health of individuals, including depression and anxiety, substance use, chronic and infectious diseases, and life opportunities, such as educational attainment and employment (Shonkoff et al. 2012 ; Metzler et al. 2017 ; Hillis et al. 2017 ). Community factors (e.g., poverty, limited access to high-quality education, unstable housing) can contribute to increased risk for violence and other health problems and the differences observed across groups (US Department of Health and Human Services 2020 ). American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people experience disproportionate rates of violence (Leavitt et al. 2018 ; Petrosky et al. 2020 , 2021 ; Kegler et al. 2022 ). AIAN communities are also more likely to experience adverse childhood experiences, potentially violent and traumatic events that occurs in childhood which may include experiencing violence, child abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home or community; economic and rural hardship; and income deprivation, which increase the risk of experiencing violence and other health problems throughout the lifespan (Anda et al. 1998; Miller et al. 2011; Ports et al. 2016 ; US Department of Health and Human Services 2015 ). In 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death in AIAN aged 10–14 and the second leading cause of death for AIAN aged 15–34 years; homicide was the eighth leading cause of death for AIAN females and sixth leading cause of death for AIAN males aged 1–54 years (CDC 2021 ).

Different forms of violence (e.g., child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder abuse, and suicide) share similar risk and protective factors that accumulate throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood (Wilkins et al. 2014 ). Additional risk factors, including contemporary reminders of historical trauma experienced by AIAN populations (e.g., loss of land, language, traditions and respect for traditional ways), contribute to inequities in exposure to risk factors for violence (Evans-Campbell 2008 ; Bombay et al. 2013 ; Mohatt et al. 2014 ; Whitbeck et al. 2004 ). Despite noted inequities, AIAN communities remain resilient and possess cultural and community assets that can be protective against violence, including community-mindedness, connection to tribal leaders, tribal language, participation in tribal ceremonies, and spirituality (Henson et al. 2017 ; Wright et al. 2013 ). The burden and impact of violence on AIAN communities, as well as their unique risk and protective factors, highlight the need for culturally specific violence prevention strategies. Culturally specific frameworks for violence prevention have been developed (Whitbeck et al. 2004 ; Dapice 2006; Robin et al. 1996 ), but effectively identifying and implementing culturally specific prevention strategies across varying forms of violence is a gap in the public health approach to violence prevention (Antone et al. 2016 ; Satter et al. 2021 ; Solomon et al. 2022 ).

Identifying effective violence prevention strategies, evaluating existing strategies, and developing new strategies to address gaps in the violence prevention field are critical to widespread violence prevention in AIAN communities. While prevention approaches and strategies are broadly identified in CDC’s Technical Packages for Violence Prevention (Center and for Injury Prevention and Control 2021 ), none were specifically described for AIAN populations. Thus, a comprehensive systematic review of violence prevention initiatives is a critical first step in identifying existing efforts and highlighting gaps specific to AIAN people and communities. Although suicide-specific systematic reviews for AIAN communities exist (Middlebrook et al. 2001 ; Clifford et al. 2013 ), there are currently no reviews which examine prevention programs across all violence topic areas. Decades of research have shown that multiple forms of violence are interconnected; therefore, adopting a shared risk and protective factors framework and reviewing violence prevention programs for one form of violence can inform the prevention of other forms of violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2016 ). This review was conducted to systematically identify violence prevention strategies and approaches for AIAN communities and to inform current and future prevention practices, identify literature gaps, and guide future research.

We used PRISMA guidelines (Liberati et al. 2009 ) and other recommended protocols (Booth et al. 2012 ) to conduct a systematic review of published and unpublished records to identify violence prevention programs, policies and practices for AIAN communities. Peer-reviewed articles, dissertations, theses, and governmental and nongovernmental publications published from 1980 to 2018 were identified through a search of nine electronic databases: Medline (OVID), PsycInfo (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest), NTIS (EBSCO), Scopus, Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest), ERIC (ProQuest) and Academic Search Complete (EBSCO). A manual review of selected relevant journals (i.e., International Journal of Indigenous Health, American Indian and Alaskan Native Mental Health Research, Washington University Journal of American Indian and Alaska Native Health, American Indian Culture and Research Journal) and articles in Google Scholar were conducted to ensure publications (2016–2018) that may not have been cataloged yet were included in the review. A search was also conducted of the Indian Health Service’s (IHS) unindexed publication, the IHS Primary Care Provider (Indian Health Service 2018), to ensure all relevant gray literature (e.g., annual and research reports, white papers) from 1980 to 2018 was included.

These sources were examined for records related to AIAN, violence, and prevention and intervention strategies (Appendix A). We included violence search terms from relevant literature (Wilkins et al. 2014 ; Degue et al. 2014 ; Holman et al. 2016 ). We also included a variety of search terms that captured prevention and intervention terminology identified from similar systematic reviews (Clifford et al. 2013 ; Degue et al. 2014 ; Holman et al. 2016 ).

A total of 8,074 records were identified (Fig.  1 ). After duplicates were removed, 5,220 abstracts were reviewed by two co-authors to determine if they met inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria included: 1) product published between January 1980 and June 2018; 2) written in English; 3) at least one violence topic area (i.e., child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, suicide, youth violence) was the primary focus of a prevention or intervention strategy; and 4) the majority (> 50%) of participants were identified as members of a US federally recognized or state recognized tribe (J. T. 2018). We did not include records that focused on Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander populations. Exclusion criteria included: 1) record did not describe the development or implementation of a program, policy, or practice; 2) prevention or intervention focused exclusively (> 75%) on unintentional injury (i.e., accidental poisoning/overdose, motor vehicle collision) or another health issue (e.g., substance use); 3) the results and discussion of the record did not focus on a majority (> 50%) federally recognized or state recognized AIAN population; 4) the record provided insufficient detail about the program, practice or policy implemented to determine if it met all inclusion criteria; and 5) record was a study review, meta-analysis, or protocol that lacked information about the prevention program. Program evaluation was not a criterion for inclusion, and not all programs listed below have been evaluated. Following the abstract review, 4,902 records were excluded.

Flowchart of American Indian and Alaska Native Violence Prevention review 1980–2018. * Note Electronic databases searched include: Medline (OVID), PsycInfo (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest), NTIS (EBSCO), Scopus, Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest), ERIC (ProQuest), ProQuest Central, Academic Search Complete EBSCO. Manually identified from hand review/search of non-indexed literature include: Google Scholar, IHS Primary Care Provider Journal and gray literature culled from ancestry and forward citing of included publications; Two year manual review of selected relevant and unindexed journals (International Journal of Indigenous Health; American Indian and Alaskan Native Mental Health Research; Washington University Journal of American Indian and Alaska Native Health). ** Note The 57 records covered 60 unique implementations, as some studies reported multiple programs, policies and practices

Two research team members conducted a full-text review of 318 records to determine eligibility for inclusion with 100% overlap for consensus agreement using inclusion and exclusion criteria above. Of the 318 full-text records reviewed, 261 were excluded (e.g., record not program specific, not focus on majority AIAN population; see Fig.  1 ), and 57 met inclusion criteria for the systematic review (Fig.  1 ).

The 57 included records were coded for: (1) violence type (child abuse/neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder abuse and/or suicide); (2) publication type (e.g., peer-reviewed publication, government publication); (3) violence prevention strategy (included from CDC technical packages); (4) strategy or program origin (e.g., adapted from existing program or new strategy); (5) study population demographics (e.g., tribal setting location, age (years) or education year); (6) study design (e.g., program evaluation, randomized controlled trial, implementation phase, comparison group presence); (7) setting where the program was implemented (e.g., school, medical/clinical, justice system, social services, lay community led, government policy); and 8) results (e.g., outcomes of interest measured, methods for measuring outcome). Violence prevention strategies were identified using relevant technical packages based on the form(s) of violence identified (e.g., for intimate partner violence, an identified strategy would be support survivors to increase safety and lessen harms). While there is no technical package for elder abuse prevention, the study team mapped the identified interventions to the closest technical package strategy available across the technical packages (i.e., teach skills). Descriptive analyses were calculated via percentages.

This systematic review identified 60 program, policy, or practice implementations or approaches across 57 records as some records had more than one unique program, practice, or policy resulting in a greater number of total implementations or approaches ( n  = 60) than records ( n  = 57). Implementations is a comprehensive term to include program, policy, or practice described. Of the 60 implementations, 72% ( n  = 43/60) were unique or non-duplicative programs (e.g., American Indian Life Skills, Discovery Dating, Pathways to Hope). Specific programs, policies or practices may have appeared more than once, such as being implemented in two different communities, and thus, the program itself is only counted once as a unique, non-duplicative program ( n  = 43). Fifteen implementations (25%, n  = 15/60) involved the same program in different settings and/or with different groups (e.g., American Indian Life Skills was implemented or evaluated in three records; see Additional File 1 ).

Publication type

Peer-reviewed journal articles accounted for 67% ( n  = 40/60) of total implementations. Government publications made up 13% of the included records ( n  = 8/60), with all but one identified through the IHS Primary Care Provider. Theses and dissertations made up 7% ( n  = 4/60). Gray literature made up 13% ( n  = 8/60). For certain violence types, government publications and dissertations were also sources of program information. For example, 20% ( n  = 4/20) of the 20 programs, policies or practices focused on sexual violence or intimate partner violence were reported in government publications and 5% ( n  = 1/20) in theses or dissertations.

Settings were also identified in different publications. While peer-reviewed journal articles accounted for most of the 21 reported programs in schools (67%, n  = 14/21) and 17 reported programs in community organizations (82%, n  = 14/17), other publication types were important when gathering information about clinic-based programs and programs implemented in other settings. For instance, government publications ( n  = 8) provided information about three programs (60%, n  = 3/8) implemented in outpatient clinics. Information about programs, policies or practices in other settings ( n  = 14) came equally from peer-reviewed journal articles ( n  = 7/14) and other publications ( n  = 7/14), with government publications (21%, n  = 3/14), gray literature (21%, n  = 3/14), and dissertation/thesis (7%, n  = 1/14) accounting for the remaining records.

Ten (17%, n  = 10/60) implementations were focused on youth under 18 years of age. The vast majority or 78% ( n  = 47/60) of programs, policies or practices were newly developed approaches, 20% ( n  = 12/60) were adapted from previously developed approaches, and 2% ( n  = 1/60) did not identify approach origin. Twenty-five percent ( n  = 15/60) of approaches used a community-based participatory research model, and 60% ( n  = 36/60) reported evaluation results.

Unique programs, policies, or practices (n  =  43)

Violence category.

Six violence types were represented among the 43 unique or non-duplicative programs, policies or practices. More than half ( n  = 25; 58%) of unique programs, policies or practices focused on suicide prevention (see Additional File 1 ). The other prevention programs, policies or practices focused on child abuse and neglect ( n  = 3; 7%), youth violence ( n  = 4; 9%), intimate partner and/or sexual violence prevention ( n  = 4; 9%), and elder abuse ( n  = 1; 2%). Six (14%) programs, policies or practices identified focused on the prevention of more than one form of violence. For instance, an evaluation of policies to reduce excessive use of alcohol in Alaska Native villages examined impact on rates of both suicide and interpersonal violence (Wood and Gruenewald 2006 ).

Violence prevention strategy

Many of the identified programs, policies or practices align with multiple violence prevention strategies (e.g., a program focused on suicide prevention may promote connectedness and teach coping and problem-solving skills). Of the 25 suicide prevention programs, policies, or practices, the most common strategies were identifying and supporting people at risk (80%; n  = 20), promoting connectedness (48%; n  = 12), and teaching coping and problem-solving skills (56%; n  = 14). By contrast, only five (20%) created protective environments (e.g., reducing access to lethal means among persons at risk for suicide). Only one program (4%) focused on improving access to and quality of suicide care.

Of the three programs, policies or practices focused on preventing child abuse and neglect, two align with the strategy to enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development and two aligned with the strategy to intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risk. Youth violence prevention programs, policies or practices ( n  = 4) involved strategies to connect youth to caring adults and activities ( n  = 2) and strengthen youth’s skills ( n  = 2). Programs, policies or practices focused on preventing intimate partner/sexual violence ( n  = 4) included strategies to teach safe and healthy relationship skills ( n  = 2), teach skills to prevent sexual violence ( n  = 2), and engage influential adults and peers ( n  = 2). The only program focused on elder abuse utilized the strategy of teaching skills to families and caregivers to prevent elder abuse. Crosscutting programs, policies or practices ( n  = 6) included strategies to strengthen youth’s skills generally ( n  = 3) and specifically teaching coping and problem-solving skills ( n  = 4).

Total program, policy, or practice implementations (N  =  60)

Recall some records had more than one unique program, practice, or policy resulting in a greater number of total implementations or approaches ( n  = 60) than records ( n  = 57). This section pertains to the overall number of implementations ( n  = 60).

American Indian/Alaska Native participant demographics

There were 14 named tribes among the AIAN communities where 60 records of program, policy, or practice creation, evaluation, or implementation took place. Many described programs, policies or practices ( n  = 25) that did not specifically identify a tribe in the publication. Programs, policies or practices were implemented in more than 14 states, the majority of which are in the western region of the USA. Four implementations (7%) did not provide specific state or tribal information but did provide broad geographic information (e.g., Midwestern, Western, High Plains and Northern Plains regions).

Two-thirds of the programs, policies or practices ( n  = 40; 67%) were implemented in populations composed fully (100%) of American Indians and/or Alaska Native people. Another 27% ( n  = 16) did not specifically list the percentage of AIAN people in the evaluation sample, but the setting implied a majority AIAN population (e.g., conducted in a tribal community). Of the remaining four programs, policies or practices, two had evaluation populations which had majority AIAN participants (54% and 90%). The other two, though they used data sets which did not have a majority of AIAN respondents (2.7% and 40% AIAN), focused primarily on AIAN respondents when writing the results and conclusions (Bartgis and Albright 2016 ; Chaffin et al. 2012 ). Thirteen of the 60 programs, policies or practices (22%) reported the mean age of their study population, which ranged from 11.1 to 48.1 years.

Reported settings involved in program, policy, or practice implementation

The most common location of programs, policies or practices reported taking place in schools (35%, n  = 21; note not every record reported age). Five (8%) were implemented in outpatient clinics. One program was implemented through changes to law enforcement and one in a social services agency. One program did not provide sufficient information to determine the setting.

There were no programs, policies or practices centered exclusively in inpatient hospitals; however, that setting was included as a part of some programs, policies or practices. For instance, one suicide prevention program adaptation included an emergency-department intervention as part of continued psychological care and home visits for people who attempted suicide (Cwik et al. 2016a ). There were no programs, policies or practices focused exclusively on changing government policies, though one study described the role of local alcohol policies, among other activities, in preventing violence (Wood and Gruenewald 2006 ). There were no programs, policies or practices directly reported to be led by tribal elders; however, 17 programs (28%) were reported to take place in community centers or gathering spaces and to be led by community members, of which tribal elders may well have been a part. For example, tribal elders were intimately involved in the development of the Qungasvik Yup’ik Intervention Toolbox, though the resulting activities were led by unspecified tribal community member facilitators (Rasmus et al. 2014 ). Fourteen programs (23%) involved multiple settings (e.g., a suicide-risk surveillance system, which includes reports from schools, emergency departments, and individuals).

Program, policy, or practice development

A majority (80%, n  = 48) were new approaches developed by and for tribal communities. Some of these, such as Zuni Life Skills and Pathways to Hope, were later adapted by and implemented in other tribes (Buhs 2000; LaFromboise and Fatemi 2011; Payne et al. 2013). Eleven programs (18%) were implementations or adaptations of programs previously created for non-AIAN audiences. Of these, seven were originally developed for non-AIAN audiences and did not significantly adapt the program curriculum for the AIAN audience. For instance, SafeCare included brief training of providers about American Indian culture, but no adaptations were made to the SafeCare model or its curriculum materials (Chaffin et al. 2012 ). The remaining four programs made significant adaptations to curricula to increase relevance for the AIAN community, with three using community-based participatory research in the adaptation (Cwik et al. 2016a ; Goodkind et al. 2012 ; Richmond et al. 2008 ). These programs included an adaptation of the emergency-department-based intervention for adolescents who attempt suicide, which focused largely on accounting for the increased burden on and limited capacity of emergency departments serving AIAN communities (Cwik et al. 2016a ). With the adaptation of the group intervention Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools, the program emphasized incorporating historical trauma and cultural protective factors into the curriculum (Goodkind et al. 2012 ). An adaptation of Safe Dates included curriculum changes to ensure cultural relevance and development of culturally specific evaluation measures (Richmond et al. 2008 ). The final adaptation, which implemented a youth violence prevention curriculum called Families and Schools Together, adapted the curriculum to include cultural protective factors, such as traditional songs, dance, food, and connection to community elders, in tribal schools (Kratochwill et al. 2004 ). One program did not provide sufficient information to determine whether it was an adaptation or a novel program (Alaska: Program 2016 ).

Program, policy, or practice evaluation data and methodology

A total of 36 implementations reported some evaluation data, 27 reported complete evaluation data, and nine provided limited or incomplete evaluation data. An example of limited or incomplete data includes a statement of “significantly positive outcomes…on measures of life skills efficacy, depression management, stress management, ability to enlist community support, and ability to enlist social resources” (LaFromboise and Malik 2016) without any numerical or statistical information or “rapes reduced by 30%” (LaFromboise and Malik 2016) without further context or methodology (Alaska: Program 2016 ). Of the programs, policies or practices which did include some evaluation data, 27/36 (75%) were peer-reviewed journal articles. The other program, policy, or practice evaluations appeared in government publications ( n  = 3/36; 8%), dissertations or theses ( n  = 2/36; 6%), and gray literature ( n  = 4/36; 11%).

Of the 36 implementations reporting at least some evaluation data, 78% ( n  = 28) reported the methods used to collect and analyze data, and 22% ( n  = 8) used randomized control trials with a comparison control condition when evaluating impact. Thirteen (30%) of the 43 unique programs, policies or practices included evaluation data. Of these, two had comprehensive evaluation data collected beyond an immediate post-evaluation. The American Indian Life Skills adaptation of the Zuni Life Skills suicide prevention program was described in five publications, three of which included evaluation data finding significant reductions in suicide risk and suicidal ideation (LaFromboise and Fatemi 2011; LaFromboise and Howard-Pitney 1995 ).

This systematic review of 38 years of AIAN violence prevention records identified 57 records reporting 60 programs, policies or practices and of those, 43 were unique (non-duplicative) programs, policies or practices. This review revealed gaps where more work is needed to identify AIAN violence prevention promising practices across violence types and to conduct evaluation for effectiveness. Below, a discussion of strengths, challenges, limitations and future recommendations is provided.

Strengths of AIAN violence prevention efforts

This review identified 43 unique programs, policies and practices that addressed violence prevention for AIAN persons. They addressed different forms of violence and used a range of prevention strategies identified in CDC’s technical packages for violence prevention (Center and for Injury Prevention and Control 2021 ). Additionally, programs, practices and policies were both novel and adapted, suggesting there are different ways that culturally specific violence prevention efforts may be implemented in AIAN communities.

Programs, practices and policies included implementations in communities and schools to reach youth and families, with some programs focusing on future generations via youth violence ( n  = 4) and child abuse and neglect prevention efforts ( n  = 3; see Additional File 1 ). These programs incorporated a variety of violence prevention strategies, ranging from strengthening parenting or youth’s skills to promoting early interventions to prevent harms. Ensuring the healthy development of youth can reduce the risk for future violence and other associated health problems (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2016 ). Implementations were geographically diverse and different tribes were represented, suggesting this work occurs across tribal communities. Some program, policy, and practice evaluation data were reported, some mentioned an evaluation and had no data, and others had no evaluation data available.

Limitations

Review limitations.

Findings are limited to the time frame of 1980–2018 as this review was part of conference proceedings and does not include an update for more recent years. Limitations also included that the examined published work may be an undercount of actual violence prevention programs available in AIAN communities. This may be related to a number of factors, including unpublished impacts of implemented programs, community driven programs that did not result in publication of findings, and complicated norms and jurisdictional issues (e.g., data sovereignty, protecting tribal knowledge). Additionally, this review focused on violence prevention and did not include prevention efforts that primarily addressed risk and protective factors (e.g., academic achievement, substance use) that may also have a primary prevention effect on violence.

Program, practice, and policy limitations

There were several limitations in the identified publications that help point to where continued and strengthened program development, implementation, and evaluation can occur. For instance, when this review was conducted, there were 573 federally recognized and 63 state recognized tribes. Many program, policy, or practice implementations or approaches occurred or were each evaluated within a single tribe; thus, results may not be generalizable to other tribes. Not all implementations were evaluated, and when evaluation evidence was available often the study design had methodological challenges (e.g., no control or comparison groups, small study populations, small convenience samples). More work is needed to further understand evaluation challenges.

Challenges and future opportunities of AIAN violence prevention efforts

While violence prevention efforts in AIAN communities are ongoing, more work remains. Few published programs were identified that were implemented to address child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence or sexual violence, all of which are prevalent forms of violence in AIAN communities. While several suicide prevention approaches were identified, the continued high rate of suicide attempts and related deaths among AIAN people suggests more effort is needed to design and implement effective strategies (Leavitt et al. 2018 ; Kegler et al. 2022 ; US Department of Health and Human Services 2021 ). CDC’s violence prevention technical packages help to identify many strategies and approaches that could be explored to fill these gaps by implementing and/or culturally adapting and evaluating identified violence prevention strategies and approaches (Center and for Injury Prevention and Control 2021 ). Future work may also identify effective strategies and approaches developed within AIAN communities to prevent violence and examine effectiveness.

Evidence was present that previously developed effective prevention strategies are being implemented in AIAN communities, at times with adaptation to increase potential relevance to the community’s culture and traditions and to address salient issues, such as historical trauma. Adaptation may be a cost-effective approach versus developing new programs for every unique community, and more culturally specific evaluation is needed to verify effectiveness of adapted strategies and approaches on preventing and reducing violence outcomes among AIAN persons and communities. More work is needed to determine to what extent adaptations are critical to generalize prevention effects when implemented in new communities. It is unclear which facets of program implementations can be generalized universally and which strategies necessitate culturally unique tribal specific adaptations. Further, identifying core program elements to inform adaptations, incorporating traditional and cultural practices, and evaluating violence prevention efforts are needed to address the experiences of the diverse federally recognized tribes and numerous state recognized tribes. Determining culturally responsive ways to identify promising and best practices and disseminate these programs to other communities remains a challenge and area for future work that can be informed by this review. Existing literature demonstrates the development and implementation of violence prevention programs, policies, and practices in collaboration with AIAN communities is possible (Rasmus et al. 2014 ; LaFromboise and Howard-Pitney 1995 ).

Published reports also demonstrated that the design and implementation of violence prevention programs remain complicated given structural challenges (e.g., lack of funding, institutionalized challenges) and other barriers (e.g., protection of sovereignty, protection of sacred and cultural knowledge) (Antone et al. 2016 ; Satter et al. 2021 ; Solomon et al. 2022 ). Rigorous evaluation of approaches is needed but is also a challenge for multiple reasons including, but not limited to, structural challenges, small populations sizes, lack of trust with Western science study methods including randomized controlled trials, and respecting tribal data sovereignty (Satter et al. 2021 ; Middlebrook et al. 2001 ). Evaluation is also hindered by funding constraints, perceived and/or actual evaluation challenges, and difficulty in identifying shared outcomes of interest. For example, standard evaluation procedures may fail to capture short-term effects that tribes may prioritize, such as community involvement, adoption of cultural customs, improved understanding of culture and history, healthier and/or more equitable policies and environments and ‘evidence-based practices’ built on time immemorial traditional knowledge and practice (Mohatt et al. 2014 ; Kelley et al. 2015 ). Building and strengthening an understanding of culturally responsive evaluation within the context of violence prevention may move forward best and promising violence prevention efforts whether developed or adapted by communities (Kratochwill et al. 2004 ).

This review highlighted a number of important considerations for implementing violence prevention efforts with AIAN people. Identifying cultural and traditional elements, aligning programs with future generations using the shared risk and protective factors frameworks, and building community collaborations incorporates and acknowledges the expertise of the community and its ability to develop and adapt culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, and responsive efforts. There remain many areas of violence prevention that were not represented in our review, such as strategies to strengthen family economic supports and early childhood education, so identifying key needs within communities and building violence prevention efforts are needed (Center and for Injury Prevention and Control 2021 ). Broadly, there is a need for increased availability of evidence-based violence prevention programs, policies and practices for all forms of violence for AIAN people and communities.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. All included articles may be found in Additional file 1 .

Abbreviations

• American Indian or Alaska Native

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA)

EBSCO search engine database used by libraries

Indian Health Service (USA)

Ovid search engine database used by libraries

ProQuest search engine database used by libraries

Alaska. Program reduces rapes by 30 percent. Crime Control Dig. 2000;34(49):7.

Google Scholar  

Allen J, et al. Suicide prevention as a community development process: understanding circumpolar youth suicide prevention through community level outcomes. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2009;68(3):274–91.

Article   ADS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Allen J, et al. A protective factors model for alcohol abuse and suicide prevention among Alaska Native youth. Am J Commun Psychol. 2014;54(1–2):125–39.

Article   Google Scholar  

Allen J, Rasmus SM, Fok CCT, Charles B, Henry D, Qungasvik T. Multi-level cultural intervention for the prevention of suicide and alcohol use risk with Alaska Native youth: a nonrandomized comparison of treatment intensity. Prev Sci. 2018;19(2):174–85.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Anda RF, Edwards V, Felitti VJ, Koss MP, Marks JS, Nordenberg D, et al. Household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. Am J Prev Me. 1998;14(4):245–58.

Antone C, Flores M, Kahn-John M, Solomon TA. American Indian and Alaska Native Cultural Wisdom Declaration. In: The National Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda . Rockville (MD); 2016 Dec. Available from: https://www.nihb.org/docs/12052016/FINALTBHA12-4-16.pdf

Bartgis J, Albright G. Online role-play simulations with emotionally responsive avatars for the early detection of Native youth psychological distress, including depression and suicidal ideation. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res. 2016;23(2):1–27.

Bombay A, Matheson K, Anisman H. The intergenerational effects of Indian Residential Schools: implications for the concept of historical trauma. Transcul Psychiatry. 2013;51(3):320–38.

Booth A, Clarke M, Dooley G, Ghersi D, Moher D, Petticrew M, et al. The nuts and bolts of PROSPERO: an international prospective register of systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2012;1(1):2.

Buhs LM. Program evaluation of the American Indian Life Skills Development Curriculum with American Indian and C’aucasian adolescents. Diss Abstr Int Sect B Sci Eng. 2000;61(1-B):523.

Buhs LM. Program evaluation of the American Indian Life Skills Development Curriculum with American Indian and Caucasian adolescents. Diss Abstr Int Sect B Sci Eng. 2000;61(1-B):523.

CDC. Suicide prevention evaluation in a Western Athabaskan American Indian Tribe-New Mexico, 1988–1997. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1998;47(13):257–61.

CDC. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) . Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Technical Packages for Violence Prevention: Using Evidence-based Strategies in Your Violence Prevention Efforts. 2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/communicationresources/pub/technical-packages.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Multiple Forms of Violence: A Strategic Vision for Connecting the Dots. Atlanta, GA: Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.

Chaffin M, Bard D, Bigfoot DS, Maher EJ. Is a structured, manualized, evidence-based treatment protocol culturally competent and equivalently effective among American Indian parents in child welfare? Child Maltreat. 2012;17(3):242–52.

Clifford AC, Doran CM, Tsey K. A systematic review of suicide prevention interventions targeting indigenous peoples in Australia, United States, Canada and New Zealand. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(1):463.

Cullen T, Marjavi A. Health cares about domestic violence day/domestic violence awareness month: I/T/U hospital and clinic activities. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2003;28(10):217–8.

Cwik MF, Tingey L, Lee A, Suttle R, Lake K, Walkup JT, et al. Development and piloting of a brief intervention for suicidal American Indian adolescents. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res. 2016a;23(1):105–24.

Cwik MF, Tingey L, Maschino A, Goklish N, Larzelere-Hinton F, Walkup J, et al. Decreases in suicide deaths and attempts linked to the white mountain apache suicide surveillance and prevention system, 2001–2012. Am J Public Health. 2016b;106(12):2183–9.

Dapice AN. The Medicine Wheel. J Transcult Nurs. 2006;

de Schweinitz PA, Nation C, DeCou CR, Stewart TJ, Allen J. Cultural perspectives on suicide from a rural Athabascan Alaska Native community: Wellness teams as a strengths-based community response. J Rural Ment Heal. 2017;41(1):4–16.

Debruyn LM, Hymbaugh K, Valdez N. Helping communities address suicide and violence: the special initiatives team of the indian health service. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res. 1988;1(3):56–65.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

DeBruyn L, Wilkins B, Stetter-Burns M, Nelson S. Violence and violence prevention. IHS Prim Care Provid. 1997;22(4):58–60.

Degue S, Valle LA, Holt KK, Massetti GM, Matjasko JL, Tharp AT. A systematic review of primary prevention strategies for sexual violence perpetration. Aggress Violent Behav. 2014;19(4):346–62.

Dorgan BL. The tragedy of Native American youth suicide. Psychol Serv. 2010;7(3):213–8.

Evans-Campbell T. Historical tra uma in American Indian/Native Alaska communities: a multilevel framework for exploring impacts on individuals, families, and communities. J Interper Viol. 2008;23(3):316–38.

Gallagher TA, Crump WCC. Lac Vieux desert tribe and Watersmeet township reduce physical and psychological bullying. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2008;33(7):217–21.

Garcia JL. A values-based career intervention for at-risk Native American boys. Diss Abstr Int Sect B Sci Eng. 2002;62(12-B):5996.

Goodkind J, LaNoue M, Lee C, Freeland L, Freund R. Feasibility, acceptability, and initial findings from a community-based cultural mental health intervention for American Indian Youth and their families. J Community Psychol. 2012;40(4):381–405.

Gottlieb K, Outten B. Family wellness warriors. Fam Commun Health. 2011;34(3):235–41.

Guilmet GM, Whited DL, Dorpat N, Pijanowski C. The Safe futures initiative at chief Leschi schools: a school-based tribal response to alcohol-drug abuse, violence-gang violence, and crime on an urban reservation. Am Indian Cult Res J. 1998;22(4):407–40.

Henry D, et al. Patterns of protective factors in an intervention for the prevention of suicide and alcohol abuse with Yup’ik Alaska Native youth. Am J Drug Alcohol Abus. 2012;38(5):476–82.

Henson M, Sabo S, Trujillo A, Teufel-Shone N. Identifying protective factors to promote health in American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents: a literature review. J Prim Prevent. 2017.

Hillis SD, Mercy JA, Saul JR. The enduring impact of violence against children. Psychol Heal Med. 2017;22(4):393–405.

Holkup PA. Native American elder mistreatment: A community concern. Vol. Ph.D. University of Iowa; 2003. Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cin20&AN=109843298&site=ehost-live

Holman DM, Ports KA, Buchanan ND, Hawkins NA, Merrick MT, Metzler M, et al. The association between adverse childhood experiences and risk of cancer in adulthood: a systematic review of the literature. Pediatrics. 2016;138(Supplement 1):S81-91.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Hurst S, Laird J. Understanding American Indian Youth Violence and Prevention. Guerr Nancy G [Ed]; Smith, Emilie Phillips [Ed] Prev youth violence a Multicult Soc (pp 149–167) xi, 310 pp Washington, DC, US Am Psychol Assoc US . 2006;149–67.

Hymer JD, Stafford HB, Hagan K. Implementing suicide intervention training in rural Alaska. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2009;34(7):206–10.

Hymer JD, Pahona G, Billie H. Suicide prevention: the role of the IHS environmental health officer. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2010;35(7):168–73.

Indian Health Service. Archive of Issues. Prim Care Provid Newsl. 2018;(1).

Kegler SR, Simon TR, Zwald ML, Chen MS, Mercy JA, Jones CM, et al. Vital signs: changes in firearm homicide and suicide rates—United States, 2019–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71:19.

Kelley A, BigFoot D, Small C, Mexicancheyenne T, Gondara R. Recommendations from an American Indian reservation community-based suicide prevention program. Int J Hum Rights Healthc. 2015;8(1):3–13.

Kratochwill TR, McDonald L, Levin JR, Bear-Tibbetts HY, Demaray MK. Families and schools together: an experimental analysis of a parent-mediated multi-family group program for American Indian children. J Sch Psychol. 2004;42(5):359–83.

LaFromboise LT. American Indian Youth Suicide Prevention. Prev Res. 2006;13(3):16–8.

LaFromboise TD, Howard-Pitney B. The Zuni Life Skills Development curriculum: a collaborative approach to curriculum development. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res Monogr Ser. 1994;4:98–121.

LaFromboise T, Howard-Pitney B. The Zuni life skills development curriculum: description and evaluation of a suicide prevention program. J Couns Psychol. 1995;42(4):479–86.

LaFromboise TD, Fatemi AS. American Indian life skills: A community-based intervention for indigenous mental health. Sarche, Michelle C [Ed]; Spicer, Paul [Ed]; Farrell, Patricia [Ed]; Fitzgerald, Hiram E [Ed] Am Indian Alaska Nativ Child Ment Heal Dev Context Prev Treat (pp 309–336) xv, 408 pp St Barbar CA, US . 2011;309–36.

LaFromboise TD, Malik SS. A culturally informed approach to American Indian/Alaska Native youth suicide prevention. Zane, Nolan [Ed]; Bernal, Guillermo [Ed]; Leong, Frederick T L [Ed] Evidence-based Psychol Pract with Ethn Minor Cult Inf Res Clin Strateg (pp 223–245) xvi, 330 pp Washington, DC, US Am Psychol . 2016;223–45.

Langdon SE, Golden SL, Arnold EM, Maynor RF, Bryant A, Freeman VK, et al. Lessons learned from a community-based participatory research mental health promotion program for American Indian Youth. Health Promot Pract. 2016;17(3):457–63.

Le TN, Gobert JM. Translating and implementing a mindfulness-based youth suicide prevention intervention in a Native American community. J Child Fam Stud. 2015;24(1):12–23.

Leavitt RA, Ertl A, Sheats K, Petrosky E, Ivey-Stephenson A, Fowler KA. Morbidity and mortality weekly report suicides among American Indian/Alaska Natives-national violent death reporting system, 18 States, 2003–2014, 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/cme/conted_info.html#weekly .

Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gøtzsche PC, Ioannidis JPA, et al. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2009;6(7): e1000100.

Long KA. Suicide intervention and prevention with Indian adolescent populations. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 1986;8(3):247–53.

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

May PA, Serna P, Hurt L, Debruyn LM. Outcome evaluation of a public health approach to suicide prevention in an american Indian tribal nation. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(7):1238–44.

May PA, Del Vecchio A. National model adolescent suicide prevention project. Albuquerque, NM; 1994. Available from: http://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nhd

Metzler M, Merrick MT, Klevens J, Ports KA, Ford DC. Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: shifting the narrative. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2017;72:141–9.

Middlebrook DL, LeMaster PL, Beals J, Novins DK, Manson SM. Suicide prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native communities: a critical review of programs. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2001;31(Suppl):132–49.

Miller EBJ, Chung WJ, Green JG, McLauglin KAKR. Adverse childhood experiences and risk of physical violence in adolescent dating relationships. J Epidemiol Commun Heal. 2011;65:11.

Mohatt GV, et al. Feasibility of a community intervention for the prevention of suicide and alcohol abuse with Yup’ik Alaska Native youth: the Elluam Tungiinun and Yupiucimta Asvairtuumallerkaa studies. Am J Commun Psychol. 2014;54(1–2):153–69.

Muehlenkamp JJ, Marrone S, Gray JS, Brown DL. A college suicide prevention model for American Indian students. Prof Psychol Res Pract. 2009;40(2):134–40.

Crime Control Digest Washington Crime News. Alaska: Program reduces rapes by 30 percent. 2000;34(49):7.

Niven JA. Screening for depression and thoughts of suicide: a tool for use in Alaska’s village clinics. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res. 2007;14(2):16–28.

Payne D, Olson K, Parrish JW. Pathway to Hope: an indigenous approach to healing child sexual abuse. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2013;72:8.

Petrosky E, Ertl A, Sheats KJ, Wilson R, Betz CJBJ. Surveillance for violent deaths - national violent death reporting system, 34 States, Four California Counties, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2017. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Surveill Summ. 2020;69(8):1–37.

Petrosky E, Mercer Kollar LM, Kearns MC, Smith SG, Betz CJ, Fowler KA, et al. Homicides of American Indians/Alaska Natives — National Violent Death Reporting System, United States, 2003–2018. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2021;70(8):1–19.

Ports KA, Ford DC, Merrick MT. Adverse childhood experiences and sexual victimization in adulthood. Child Abus Negl. 2016;51:313–22.

Rasmus SM, Charles B, Mohatt GV. Creating Qungasvik (a Yup’ik intervention “toolbox”): case examples from a community-developed and culturally-driven intervention. Am J Community Psychol. 2014;54(1–2):140–52.

Richmond LS, Peterson DJ, Betts SC. The evolution of an evaluation: a case study using the tribal participatory research model. Health Promot Pract. 2008;9(4):368–77.

Robin RW, Chester B, Goldman D. Cumulative trauma and PTSF in American Indian Communities. In: A S, editor. Ethnocultural Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association; 1996.

Satter D, Mercer Kollar L, Antone C, Arambula Solomon T, Carr E, Connolly M, et al. American Indian and Alaska Native knowledge and public health for the primary prevention of missing or murdered indigenous persons. Dep Justice J Fed Law Pract. 2021;69(2):149.

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Schanen JG, Skenandore A, Scow B, Hagen J. Assessing the impact of a healthy relationships curriculum on Native american adolescents. Soc Work. 2017;62(3):251–8.

Shonkoff JP, Garner AS, Siegel BS, Dobbins MI, Earls MF, Garner AS, et al. The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics. 2012;129(1):e232–46.

Solomon TGA, Starks RRB, Attakai A, Molina F, Cordova-Marks F, Kahn-John M, et al. The generational impact of racism on health: voices from American Indian communities. Health Affairfs. 2022;41(2):281–8.

Spence J, Vandiver VL. Tribal best practices: A Native American horsemanship program for Indian youth. Vandiver, Vikki L [Ed] Best Pract community Ment Heal A pocket Guid (pp 85–102) xxxviii, 332 pp Chicago, IL, US Lyceum Books; US . 2013;85–102.

Stuart P. The Indian health service suicide prevention work plan. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2005;30(9):223–9.

T J. Indian tribal entities within the contiguous 48 states recognized and eligible to receive services from the united States Bureau of Indian Affairs. Fed Regist. 2018;83(20):41–6.

Tingey L, Goklish N, Larzelere-Hinton F, Lee A, Suttle R, Craig M, et al. The White mountain apache model for suicide and self­injury surveillance and prevention: innovation in public health. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2013;38(1):1–4.

Tingey L, Larzelere-Hinton F, Goklish N, Ingalls A, Craft T, Sprengeler F, et al. Entrepreneurship education: A strength-based approach to substance use and suicide prevention for American Indian adolescents. Am Indian Alaska Nativ Ment Heal Res. 2016;23(3):248–70.

Trottier J. Taking back our communities: gang prevention strategies for tribal communities. IHS Prim Care Provid. 2009;34(7):202–5.

US Department of Health and Human Services. The health and well-being of children in rural areas: A portrait of the nation, 2011–2012. US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Service Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau; 2015.

US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy people 2030 evidence summaries. Washington: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2020.

US Department of Health and Human Services. Mental and Behavioral Health - American Indians/Alaska Natives . The Office of Minority Health. 2021.

Wexler L, White J, Trainor B. Why an alternative to suicide prevention gatekeeper training is needed for rural Indigenous communities: presenting an empowering community storytelling approach. Crit Public Health. 2015;25(2):205–17.

Wexler L, McEachern D, DiFulvio G, Smith C, Graham LF, Dombrowski K. Creating a community of practice to prevent suicide through multiple channels: describing the theoretical foundations and structured learning of PC CARES. Int Q Commun Health Educ. 2016;36(2):115–22.

Wexler L, Trout L, Rataj S, Kirk T, Moto R, McEachern D. Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide: learning and behavioural outcomes of a training-of-trainers model to facilitate grassroots community health education to address Indigenous youth suicide prevention. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2017;76(1):1345277.

Whitbeck L, Adams G, Hoyt D, Chen X. Conceptualizing and measuring historical trauma among American Indian people. Am J Community Psychol. 2004;33(3–4):119–30.

Wilkins, N., Tsao, B., Hertz, M., Davis, R., Klevens J. Connecting the dots: an overview of the links among multiple forms of violence. Atlanta, GA; 2014.

Wood DS, Gruenewald PJ. Local alcohol prohibition, police presence and serious injury in isolated Alaska Native villages. Addiction. 2006;101(3):393–403.

Wright, Margaret O’Dougherty Masten, Ann S. Narayan AJ. Resilience processes in development: Four waves of research on positive adapation in the context of adversity. In: Handbook of resilience in children. Boston, MA; 2013. p. 15–37.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Joanna Gaines with the CDC Library for her work contributing to the systematic search of the literature. We thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indian Health Service National American Indian and Alaska Native Injury and Violence Prevention Conference for the opportunity to present these results at the 2019 Denver, CO conference and be part of the published conference proceedings.

Jeffrey Rollman completed the coding and early drafts of the manuscript as part of an Injury Control Research Center 2018 summer internship affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. M. Thomas completed the coding and early drafts of the manuscript as part of the Presidential Management Fellows Program during summer 2018 when placed with the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention’s Communications Team.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

Jeffrey E. Rollman

Independent Researcher, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32563, USA

Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

Laura M. Mercer Kollar

American Institutes for Research, 10 South Riverside Plaza, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60606, USA

Katie A. Ports

Indian Health Service, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857, USA

Carmen Clelland Cheyenne and Arapaho

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce, 1825 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA, 30345, USA

Carmen Clelland Cheyenne and Arapaho & Delight E. Satter Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

Corinne David-Ferdon

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors participated in concept development, codebook development, data analyses and interpretation, and writing. JR and MT led and participated in coding and data analyses. During early states up to early manuscript development, JER, MT, KAP, and CDF completed work as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention and CC and DEC completed work as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Office of Tribal Affairs and Strategic Alliances.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura M. Mercer Kollar .

Ethics declarations

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the official views of Indian Health Service.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics approval and consent to participate was not required as this was a systematic review of the published literature.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Additional file 1: table..

Programs, Policies, and practices organized by violence type and publication year.

Appendix A: Medline query search terms

Exp American Native Continental Ancestry Group/ OR (Native American* OR American Indian* OR Alaska Native* OR Alaskan Native* OR Native Alaskan* OR Inuit* OR Tribal Nation* OR First Nations OR Indian reservation* OR Tribal government* OR tribal college* OR tribal universit* OR Indian Health Service).ti,ab.

Violence OR assault* OR spouse abuse OR spousal abuse OR battered OR elder abuse OR child abuse OR abusive behavior* OR rape OR firearm injur* OR homicide* OR suicide* OR self-harm OR self-injur* OR harmful behavior OR maltreatment OR child neglect OR elder neglect OR juvenile delinquen* OR aggression OR aggressive behavior* OR antisocial behavior* OR violent behavior* OR fighting OR gang* OR bullying OR bullied OR bullies

Prevention OR intervention* OR education OR program* OR curricul*

Note: Queries using the same search terms were conducted in other electronic databases.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Rollman, J.E., Thomas, M., Mercer Kollar, L.M. et al. American Indian and Alaska Native violence prevention efforts: a systematic review, 1980 to 2018. Inj. Epidemiol. 8 (Suppl 2), 72 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-024-00488-3

Download citation

Accepted : 07 February 2024

Published : 19 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-024-00488-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Violence prevention
• Systematic review

Injury Epidemiology

ISSN: 2197-1714

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]