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Most current conceptual frameworks used for hospital quality management exhibit shortcomings, terminology barriers or too much complexity. We propose a rigorous and simple model specific to hospitals, based on four entities (patients, activities, resources and effects) and six levels in order to measure the development of quality management systems. The proposed model is compatible with other substantiated models, robust in coping with falsifiability and provides flexibility to avoid a too unilateral approach.

This chapter introduces readers to a complex adaptive systems approach for integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures/institutions. Until recently, scientists have resorted to reductionism as a decoding and epistemological strategy for understanding human health. The complex bonds among health’s biological, behavioral, and social dimensions, however, cannot be fully grasped with reductionist schemas. Moreover, because reducing and simplifying can lead to incomplete understanding of phenomena, the resulting deficient knowledge has the potential to be harmful.

To achieve its purpose, this primer will: (1) introduce fundamental notions from complexity science, useful for inquiry and practice integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures; (2) outline selected methodological strategies employed in studying complex adaptive/dynamic systems; (3) address the question, “Specifically, how can a dynamic systems approach be helpful for integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures/institutions, to improve the public’s health?”; and (4) provide examples of studies currently deploying a complexity perspective.

The originality/value of this primer rests in its critique of the research status quo and the proposition of an alternative lens for integrating genomic, biomedical, and sociological research to improve the public’s health. The topic of complex adaptive/dynamic systems has begun to flourish within sociology, medicine, and public health, but many researchers lack exposure to the topic’s basic notions and applications.

In this chapter, the author makes the case for how disability affects a family and, therefore, that clinicians should adopt a wider lens when providing treatment to disabled clients. In the review of research findings on disability in the family, there are three parts: (a) models of disability, (b) disabled children, and (c) disabled adults. In the next section, the author presents ideas from medical family therapy (MFT) and discusses family systems models that provide a structure for thinking about a family’s response to disability in any of its members. Brief case examples throughout the chapter illustrate how families are involved in an individual member’s disability. Implications for clinicians include knowing the core tenets and common factors of family systems therapy; familiarity with disability affirmative therapy; attention to the reality of microaggressions and courtesy stigma; comfort with disability topics such as pain, fatigue, and sexuality; having an accessible practice; thinking systemically; and the ability to hold all the parts of the family and the disability in one place.

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families of children with developmental disabilities (DD) often face more significant challenges in obtaining services than families of typical children. It is critical for these families to build and improve their family resilience at the early stage when their children are newly diagnosed with disabilities. This paper explores how to integrate family resilience theory into daily Parent to Parent support to strengthen family resilience for CLD families of children with disabilities to better prepare them for future challenges, crises, and uncertainties. Using a case study design that includes interviews and surveys, we recruited CLD parents of children newly diagnosed with disabilities and provided adapted services to these parents for about three months. This paper explores the adapted Parent to Parent practices and outcomes from the perspectives of cultural brokers who offer the adapted daily support. Findings highlighted the promising outcomes of the adapted support model for CLD families of children with disabilities and identified challenges during the support process. Further research is needed to confirm the findings.