Λήψη αποφάσεων και δημόσιες πολιτικές στο χώρο της υγείας. Αντιμετωπίζοντας πολύπλοκα προβλήματα (wicked problems) με σύγχρονες προσεγγίσεις και πρακτικές.

Abstract

The subject of this essay is the presentation of a new approach in shaping public policies that of design thinking which makes the process of analyzing and formulating public policies, especially those that concern wicked problems which emphasize the complexity, the ambiguity and the divergent opinions that are observed in many of social issues, in a more effective way. The key goal of this essay is to indicate how wicked problems are on the epicenter of contempo rary developed societies, what differentiates those problems from the rest and how traditional designing approaches and public policies analysis are not adequate of facing up to the challenges that these problems bring into being. Within the Health sector, wicked problems continuously occur and their confrontation often proves to be a “mission impossible”, as it is not always easy to approach holistically those problems due to their complexity, ambiguity and variability. This poses significant implications in the design and the analysis of the public health policies. This essay comes to provide a new methodological tool in decision making as far as dealing with wicked problems is concerned, serving as a response to the challenges that contemporary socie ties’ problems set. Last but not least, in order to focus the main concern of this essay Greece, as well as to designate the many advantages that the suggested new approach in designing and ana lyzing public health policies offers, a wicked problem that is present in the Greek Health De partment is being looked into and solved through the suggested method. The aspiration of this essay is not only to solidify a basis for further research but also to trigger Public Administration Authorities to adopt and adapt to a new and innovative approach in designing and analyzing public policies. So as to devise this essay, a thorough bibliography research was made, including the study of European and international bibliography, an immense variety of articles, studies, in struction material and reports by several countries and international organizations (such as the Australian government, the N.A.T.O., the OECD and so on).