These slides have been produced for MobiMOOC a free Massive Open Online Course as part of the week 3 theme on MHealth. See http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/Mobile+health+%28mHealth%29 The slides will also be made available as well.

1. Health Problems as Wicked Problems:
How mobile tools might help?
MobiMooc12
Week 3 mHealth
Malcolm Lewis
http://about.me/malcolm_lewis

2. What is a wicked problem?
• The term ‘wicked’ in this context is used, not in
the sense of evil, but resistant to solution.
• Many problems in health are complex, multi-
framed, cross-boundary, and hard to solve.
• They often require collaborative and distributed
leadership.
• The solutions are not in books or journals
• Evidence reviews are a loose guide.

3. Wicked
• There is no definite formulation of the
problem, each problem is essentially
unique, often has not been faced before,
and is entwined with other problems. The
search for solutions never stops. Solutions
are not good or bad or limited, but are
judgment calls and are often difficult to
measure.

4. • “Wicked problem” concept originally
proposed by Rittel & Webber 1973
• Wicked problems stand in contrast to
Tame problems.
• Tame not necessarily simple—they can be
very technically complex like landing on
the moon.

5. First, I believe that this nation should
commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing
a man on the moon and returning
him safely to the Earth.
US President John F. Kennedy
http://www.universetoday.com/85935/i-believe-this-nation-should-commit-itself-kennedys-moon-shot-speech-to-congress/#ixzz25w0jQPpA

6. Key characteristics
• Wicked problems are difficult to clearly define
• Wicked problems have many interdependencies and are
often multi-causal.
• Attempts to address wicked problems often lead to
unforeseen consequences.
• Wicked problems are often not stable.
• Wicked problems usually have no clear solution.
• Wicked problems are socially complex.
• Wicked problems hardly ever sit conveniently within the
responsibility of any one organisation.
• Wicked problems involve changing behaviour.
• Some wicked problems are characterised by chronic
policy failure.
Tackling Wicked Problems: A Public Policy Perspective
http://www.apsc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/6386/wickedproblems.pdf

7. Wicked examples
• Obesity prevention,
• Lowering smoking rates,
• Child protection,
• Indigenous disadvantage,
• Climate change,
• food security,
• falls prevention,
• Reducing Suicide rates,
• Town planning,
• Infection control,
• Parenting difficult children
• Drug law enforcement

8. Facing Up to Wickedness
• Gather the many partners and
stakeholders together and build are
shared commitment and an understanding
of everyone's views and interests.
• More or less arrive at a coherent sense of
commitment to doing “what might help
here, now.”

9. How can mobile tools help?
• Everyone has to keep
learning and
collaborating and to
keep looking out for Reflect Observe
expected and
unexpected
outcomes.
Plan Act

10. Good mLearn= Good mHealth
• Mobile devices can potentially increase the
capacity of wicked workers to :
– Learn from others
– Share their reflections
– Collect outcomes data
– Act collaboratively
– Build local knowledge
– Downes & Siemens Connectivism model of
knowledge and learning may be what happens
when a network of health and human services learn.