Nourish your mind in March

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
– Wayne Dyer

There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass disruption in our health services, and in the lives of every person across the globe. Its presence dominates media stories and has demanded we put attention on actions that protect the collective hauora of our communities. It has also relentlessly tested the resilience of individuals, whānau and systems, and has brought to life realities we had only ever previously imagined from science fiction novels and movies.

However, through the most awful parts of the pandemic, there have been lessons. Lessons about how our historical experiences can shape our perspectives to current day challenges and the value that must be placed on acknowledging these to support our responses. Lessons about how when we work together and take collective action to address a problem, we can achieve what others may have said was impossible. And lessons about our capacity to stay adaptive and make significant shifts in mindset and practice to meet the needs of fast changing contexts.

These are important lessons. Lessons that hold us in good stead for imagining beyond the pandemic and creating a new future for our health system.

One of the essential strategies for navigating change is putting attention on how we manage energy. How we break down what is required to solve complex and enduring challenges into manageable parts. Taking the time necessary to make sense of how we will each contribute to building the foundations of a health system that is truly people-centred, equitable, accessible and cohesive.

Making space for connection and new thinking to occur can be a useful tool for inspiring innovation and giving the energy required to keep moving through change. KPI Programme stakeholders often reflect how much they value having space to think. So as a Programme we have chosen to dedicate March to this very action.

This issue of the The Indicator is dedicated to promoting and linking you and your colleagues to opportunities to engage and nourish your minds through what we anticipate will be a particularly demanding time. Whether you’re seeking space to learn from others; or you have a desire to get into the detail of data differences to uncover new insights; March really does have something for everyone.

Ngā manaakitanga
The KPI Programme team

Click here to read the newsletter