The modern science tends to present the data and knowledge in a structured form. This in itself marked the dominance of structuralism in science and though some other scientific concepts have developed after it, there is no doubt that the structuralist and poststructuralist approaches still hold sway. One of the distinguished features within the framework of these approaches is modeling. In the present paper the 5-step model will be introduced and it will be seen how the model can be applied to practice, namely to resolution of a health problem.
The five-step model as can be gleaned from its name includes five stages: the first of these is the stage of identification and clarification of the problem. This step can otherwise be described as the goal-setting step. It requires initially the recognition of the fact that there is a problem and that it requires a solution. Usually the recognition of one problem may require getting insight into the whole set of problems and even making research in the field.
The second step is to gather information on the problem. In our century, it goes without saying, that information has become a real asset and this truly applies to resolving problems domain: before proceeding to tackle the problem, one needs to learn about it more. This already implies that possible solutions will be considered but more specifically the causes and consequences of the problem. This step might include some routine procedures as well, for example, checking files or brainstorming with colleagues.
The third stage is evaluation of the evidence. At this stage the gathered information is weighed and its reliability is considered. If the information is not reliable, it might be rethought or not used in the problem solving process. Also facts are distinguished from opinions.
The fourth step is to consider alternatives. This step already presupposes that one will draw conclusions on the subject and this will enable to pose solutions. Advantages and disadvantages should be taken into account during this stage though it is at the final, fifth stage, that they are given the full attention. The final stage can be summed up as choosing and implementing the best solution. In other words, out of many solutions the best is chosen.
Now let us see the practical application of the model. The health problem that we will be the subject of the paper is the problem of patients’ safety. Following the first step there is a need to explain the problem in a detail, however. It can be put in a nutshell like this: patients have felt increasingly insecure in modern hospitals due to a number of factors.
At the second stage information about the problem is gathered. It is discovered that patients might feel insecure because of frequent medical and diagnostic errors, cases of sepsis, not clear quality data, etc. The next step is to evaluate the evidence gotten. In this respect statistics is specifically to be considered and as a result it will be seen that the problem does really exist. On the other hand, at this stage some solutions on the basis of the evaluated information already can be worked out. Thus, one discovers that quality data, according to most advice provided, should be clear and in a free domain. (Amalberti, 2005)
At the fourth stage some conclusions from the information and data perused are to be drawn as well as alternatives are to be considered. In our case the first conclusion is that there are certain obstacles to the patients’ safety and these obstacles should be eliminated. Secondly, it can be stated that the nature of these obstacles is quite variegated but in its foundation lies negligence or lack of professional knowledge and experience. So at the final stage it can be said that upgrading medical responsibility and knowledge is the solution to the problem in question. (Hingorani at al, 1999)
References
Amalberti, R. (2005). Five System Barriers to Achieving Ultrasafe Health Care. Annals of
Internal Medicine 142 (9): 756–764.
Hingorani, M., Wong, T., Vafidis, G. (1999). Patients' and doctors' attitudes to amount of
information given after unintended injury during treatment: Cross sectional,
questionnaire survey. British Medical Journal 318 (7184): 640–641.
