As the name suggests, health problems are those related to a person’s health or a group of persons. These may also consist of situations in which a person or a group can not function normally and without pain due to a disease or other reasons.
Unfortunately, such issues affect the general body and mind condition, decrease people’s life quality, and may bear various consequences. Finding the best method to solve health problems is a challenging, complex, and multifaceted process that needs the combination of scientific information, clinical skill, creative thinking, and a systematic and evidence-based approach.
It is noteworthy that there is no single best way to solve all health problems since different issues need different solutions and strategies. However, using our step-by-step guide, you can choose which approach would be better than others when facing a specific health problem.
The best method to find a solution to a health problem
To choose the best method, you should take some general steps. These steps are presented below:
1. Define and assess the health problem
The first step to solving any problem is identifying and clearly describing the main problem. This step consists of answering such questions:
- What is the nature of the problem, and how much is it severe?
- Who may be affected by the problem?
- What are the possible causes and consequences of the health issue?
- What are the aims and results of solving the issue?
After answering the above questions, you should thoroughly assess the problem and its features. For example, you should characterize the nature, severity, frequency, duration, causes, effects, and risk factors. This step also consists of gathering and analyzing relevant data from different sources. Some examples of these sources would be clinical records and tests, surveys, interviews, observations, and literature reviews.
Clearly defining and assessing the health issue will help you to understand the scope and extent of the issue so you can confine the domain and concentrate on the solution by understanding underlying determinants and contributing factors and thereby avoid confusion.
2. Review the evidence
Review the available evidence of the health issue and its potential approaches. This step may consist of searching and assessing relevant data sources, including scientific literature, clinical guidelines, expert opinions, patient preferences, and best practices. Reviewing these information sources will help you better perceive the current status of information and practice regarding the health issue and the potential approaches to finding any gaps or uncertainties for further investigations.
3. Define the goal
The third step to solving a health problem is defining your goal and setting your desired result. This step may comprise different activities, including determining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant goals and indicators with specific deadlines that show the expected changes or improvements in the health status or life quality of those who suffer from the problem. Defining clear and specific objectives will help you elucidate your goal, assist in solving the process, and evaluate its progress and impact.
4. Identifying or generating the possible solutions
When you define your purpose, it’s time to identify or generate possible solutions based on the available evidence, resources, and creativity. This step may involve searching and reviewing available solutions and interventions that have been already proven or tested, brainstorming, ideating, prototyping, or even testing different ideas or options. Identifying or generating possible solutions will help you to explore different options and possibilities to find the most suitable and feasible method.
5. Assess and select the best approach.
The fifth step is assessing and choosing the best approach for the health issue based on various criteria like effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, cost, sustainability, scalability, and ethicality. This step can be comprised of comparing, analyzing, or rating various approaches depending on their advantages and disadvantages, benefits, risks, and strengths and weaknesses. Assessing and selecting the best approach will help you make a conscious and rational decision, increase the potential of positive results, and decrease the adverse outcomes regarding solving the health issue.
6. Execute and monitor the approach.
The sixth step is doing and monitoring the solution in practice. This step consists of planning, performing, and managing activities or resources to deliver the solution or intervention to the person affected by the problem in a qualified and safe way. To do the best, you may need to engage and collaborate with different stakeholders, including healthcare providers, policymakers, or any person who is in charge of supporting or facilitating the execution of the solution. At the same time, you may need to collect, measure, or report data or indicators that show the progress and effect of the solution on the health issue and its results. All these activities assist you in putting evidence into practice and evaluating if the solution could achieve the expected goals in a safe and qualified manner.
7. Assess and improve the approach.
The last step is to evaluate and improve the solution depending on feedback and results. This step may include reviewing, reflecting, or learning from experiences or results, as well as identifying any issue that needs to be solved or any situations or enhancements which can be done. In addition, you may need to modify, adapt, or optimize a solution or intervention based on new evidence or changing situations and needs. In this step, you may also have to scale up, replicate, or disseminate the approach or intervention to other people who suffer from similar health issues. Assessing, improving, and scaling up the solution will help you ensure the approach’s relevance and sustainability over time.
Final word
Finding the best approach for a health problem is a complex and dynamic process that involves different steps and stakeholders. In this process, you should balance between scientific knowledge and practical skills. You also have to balance analytical and creative thinking and equally benefit from individual judgment and collaborative networks.