title: Real change in the real world: an achievable goal.
abstract: This commentary builds on the papers presented at the Vanderbilt Conference by emphasizing the importance of better understanding the process of change-making if real change in the real world is to be achieved. The commentary reviews several frameworks and research findings related to achieving large-scale sustainable change that benefits children and families. It calls for the application of systems thinking as a complement to the more micro-level research that was presented at the Vanderbilt conference. Such an approach would have implications for framing of the issue, for the strategies that are taken to try to achieve change, and for research/evaluation methods for studying complex, dynamic, nonlinear systems.
authors.affiliation: Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. friedman@fmhi.usf.edu
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D013598:Systems Theory; D014481:United States