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Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis?
BACKGROUND: Many complex public health evidence gaps cannot be fully resolved using only conventional public health methods. We aim to familiarise public health researchers with selected systems science methods that may contribute to a better understanding of complex phenomena and lead to more impac...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423532/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37328262 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-220435 |
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author | Höhn, Andreas Stokes, Jonathan Pollack, Roxana Boyd, Jennifer Chueca Del Cerro, Cristina Elsenbroich, Corinna Heppenstall, Alison Hjelmskog, Annika Inyang, Elizabeth Kopasker, Daniel Sonthalia, Shreya Thomson, Rachel M Zia, Kashif Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal Meier, Petra |
author_facet | Höhn, Andreas Stokes, Jonathan Pollack, Roxana Boyd, Jennifer Chueca Del Cerro, Cristina Elsenbroich, Corinna Heppenstall, Alison Hjelmskog, Annika Inyang, Elizabeth Kopasker, Daniel Sonthalia, Shreya Thomson, Rachel M Zia, Kashif Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal Meier, Petra |
author_sort | Höhn, Andreas |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Many complex public health evidence gaps cannot be fully resolved using only conventional public health methods. We aim to familiarise public health researchers with selected systems science methods that may contribute to a better understanding of complex phenomena and lead to more impactful interventions. As a case study, we choose the current cost-of-living crisis, which affects disposable income as a key structural determinant of health. METHODS: We first outline the potential role of systems science methods for public health research more generally, then provide an overview of the complexity of the cost-of-living crisis as a specific case study. We propose how four systems science methods (soft systems, microsimulation, agent-based and system dynamics models) could be applied to provide more in-depth understanding. For each method, we illustrate its unique knowledge contributions, and set out one or more options for studies that could help inform policy and practice responses. RESULTS: Due to its fundamental impact on the determinants of health, while limiting resources for population-level interventions, the cost-of-living crisis presents a complex public health challenge. When confronted with complexity, non-linearity, feedback loops and adaptation processes, systems methods allow a deeper understanding and forecasting of the interactions and spill-over effects common with real-world interventions and policies. CONCLUSIONS: Systems science methods provide a rich methodological toolbox that complements our traditional public health methods. This toolbox may be particularly useful in early stages of the current cost-of-living crisis: for understanding the situation, developing solutions and sandboxing potential responses to improve population health. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10423532 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-104235322023-08-14 Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? Höhn, Andreas Stokes, Jonathan Pollack, Roxana Boyd, Jennifer Chueca Del Cerro, Cristina Elsenbroich, Corinna Heppenstall, Alison Hjelmskog, Annika Inyang, Elizabeth Kopasker, Daniel Sonthalia, Shreya Thomson, Rachel M Zia, Kashif Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal Meier, Petra J Epidemiol Community Health Theory and Methods BACKGROUND: Many complex public health evidence gaps cannot be fully resolved using only conventional public health methods. We aim to familiarise public health researchers with selected systems science methods that may contribute to a better understanding of complex phenomena and lead to more impactful interventions. As a case study, we choose the current cost-of-living crisis, which affects disposable income as a key structural determinant of health. METHODS: We first outline the potential role of systems science methods for public health research more generally, then provide an overview of the complexity of the cost-of-living crisis as a specific case study. We propose how four systems science methods (soft systems, microsimulation, agent-based and system dynamics models) could be applied to provide more in-depth understanding. For each method, we illustrate its unique knowledge contributions, and set out one or more options for studies that could help inform policy and practice responses. RESULTS: Due to its fundamental impact on the determinants of health, while limiting resources for population-level interventions, the cost-of-living crisis presents a complex public health challenge. When confronted with complexity, non-linearity, feedback loops and adaptation processes, systems methods allow a deeper understanding and forecasting of the interactions and spill-over effects common with real-world interventions and policies. CONCLUSIONS: Systems science methods provide a rich methodological toolbox that complements our traditional public health methods. This toolbox may be particularly useful in early stages of the current cost-of-living crisis: for understanding the situation, developing solutions and sandboxing potential responses to improve population health. BMJ Publishing Group 2023-09 2023-06-16 /pmc/articles/PMC10423532/ /pubmed/37328262 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-220435 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
spellingShingle | Theory and Methods Höhn, Andreas Stokes, Jonathan Pollack, Roxana Boyd, Jennifer Chueca Del Cerro, Cristina Elsenbroich, Corinna Heppenstall, Alison Hjelmskog, Annika Inyang, Elizabeth Kopasker, Daniel Sonthalia, Shreya Thomson, Rachel M Zia, Kashif Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal Meier, Petra Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title | Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title_full | Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title_fullStr | Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title_full_unstemmed | Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title_short | Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
title_sort | systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? |
topic | Theory and Methods |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423532/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37328262 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-220435 |
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