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December 12, 2008
Retreat Refreshes Behavioral, Social Sciences
Dr. Christine Bachrach
Dr. Christine Bachrach, acting director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, wanted just one thing out of the first-ever day-long retreat for NIH’s widely dispersed community of behavioral and social scientists, held Nov. 12 at Natcher Bldg.
December 12, 2008
CBT4CBT
New Hope for Treatment of Addiction
Dr. Kathleen Carroll
Drug addiction is notoriously tough to treat, but now research is showing a fresh way to tackle the problem. It’s called computer-based training for cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT)
OBSSR’s Mabry Wins with Systems Analysis Team
OBSSR’s Mabry Wins with Systems Analysis Team
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January 22, 2009, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Sex, Drugs, and Viral Load: Integrating HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment
January 28-29, 2009 Dissemination and Implementation Conference
Reminder — PLEASE DISTRIBUTE
July 12-24, 2009
OBSSR/NIH Summer Training Institute on Randomized Clinical Trials Involving Behavioral Interventions
APPLICATIONS DUE Midnight on Sunday, January 4, 2009
Click Here
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Home > Scientific Areas > Methodology > Systems Science
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Systems Science |
Background
There is a growing recognition that most major threats to the public’s health - including cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, cancer, diabetes, mental health problems, HIV, substance abuse, violence, emerging infectious diseases, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, sleep disorders, and more—are complex in the sense that each one arises from an intricate mix of behavioral, economic and social factors interacting with biological factors, as well as each other, over the lifespan and across an array of settings (e.g., home, school, workplace, neighborhood, etc.). For example, tobacco use and successful cessation are influenced by a host of interrelated factors, including: the tobacco product itself (e.g., percent free-base nicotine content, presence or absence of menthol/other flavoring, and other product constituents), the person (e.g., genetic predisposition), influences on the person (peer influence, media exposure - both tobacco promotion and health messages, cultural norms, prior tobacco exposure, availability and usage of pharmacotherapy, history of quit attempts, presence of workplace smoking bans), and the tobacco industry (product design, marketing, pricing; for a discussion of the myriad of factors in tobacco control, see NCI, 2007).
Such problems have typically been approached using correlation-based analytic methods (e.g., regression), which are useful for identifying linear relationships but are limited because of their inability to set up and test a web of causal relationships. While such methods can be valuable in providing detailed information about various aspects of the problem, used alone they are insufficient for addressing complex problems that are dynamic (i.e., change over time) and complex in terms of the large number of relationships in the system. Moreover, these methods are not designed to put all the pieces together for a big picture view.
Systems science methodologies provide a way to address complex problems, while taking into account the big picture and context of such problems. These methods enable investigators to examine the dynamic interrelationships of variables at multiple levels of analysis (e.g., from cells to society) simultaneously (often through causal feedback processes), while also studying the impact on the behavior of the system as a whole over time (Midgely, 2003). They are also useful for making implicit assumptions about complex phenomena explicit, which exposes gaps in knowledge about the problem. Moreover, simulation modeling can be used to generate “alternative futures” allowing decision makers (e.g., policy makers) to simulate the impact of various policy decisions and how they play out over time before actually putting them into practice (Sterman, 2006). For example, insights gained by the use of simulation models can help policy makers choose the most effective option among competing strategies when resources for combating the problem are limited. Systems science methodologies are also extremely useful for understanding why programs and interventions fail to have their intended effects (and in the worst cases magnify the problem; Sterman, 2000).
Systems science methodologies can also be used to refine and reform systems of care to enable planners to identify impediments to implementing proven innovations in everyday treatment and prevention practice. Dynamic models can facilitate the adoption of proven new therapeutic and business practices to ensure effective interface within existing complex systems of care. Decision tools and models can be developed to discover unanticipated effects of change on barriers to treatment and prevention services access, gaps in resource allocation, new training requirements, insufficient inter-organizational linkages, and numerous other factors affecting healthcare systems improvements.
Specific examples of systems science methodologies include, but are not limited to: systems dynamics modeling (Sterman, 2000), agent based modeling (Epstein, 2006), discrete event simulation (Banks et al., 2005), network analysis (Wasserman & Faust, 1994; Scott, 2000), dynamic microsimulation modeling (e.g., Mitton, Sutherland & Weeks, 2000), and Markov modeling (Sonnenberg & Beck, 1993). These techniques (among others) are particularly well-suited for understanding connections between a system’s structure and its behavior over time; anticipating a range of plausible futures based on explicit scenarios for action or inaction in certain areas; identifying unintended or counter-intuitive consequences of interventions; evaluating both the short- and long-term effects of policy options; and guiding investments in new research or data collection to address critical information needs. Such tools have proven heuristic power, typically integrating data from multiple prior studies and surveillance systems, and can offer innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. For example, systems modeling can enhance decision making and policy decisions by showing how to strike a more effective balance between treatment and prevention approaches.
Many system modeling methodologies are not new and indeed are now used routinely in fields such as corporate management, economics, engineering, physics, energy, ecology, biology, and others precisely because these methods add value compared with alternative techniques or unaided decision-making. System-oriented methods have been slower to diffuse in health-related behavioral and social science. Not surprisingly, as the appreciation for the complexity of many problems in the public health sphere has grown, there have been calls recently to address public health problems with systems science (Gerberding, 2007; Homer & Hirsch, 2006; Mabry, et al. 2008; Madon, et al., 2007; Milstein, 2008).
Partnerships in Systems Science
OBSSR has worked closely with numerous NIH Institutes and Centers as well as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to build and stimulate a strong program systems science research across NIH and CDC. To date, these efforts have taken the form of educational outreach and generation of relevant funding opportunity announcements. The work in this area is ongoing with a week-long training course planned for the summer of 2009 (details forthcoming on this website) and other activites in the planning stages. To keep informed of OBSSR systems science activities, join the listserv (see below).
Systems Science Funding Opportunity Announcements
Using Systems Science Methodologies to Protect and Improve Health
Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences – systems science is mentioned as a target area for applications
Technological Innovations for Interdisciplinary Research Incorporating the Behavioral and Social Sciences (STTR[R41/R42])
Health Disparities PARs
Systems Science Videocasts
- 2007 Symposia Series on Systems Science and Health
- May 2007 Conference: Complex Approaches to Population Health
Systems Science and Health Resources
Hygeia’s Constellation: Navigating Health Futures in a Dynamic and Democratic World
This work is published as a monograph from CDC and is authored by Bobby Milstein. The full text can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/syndemics/monograph/index.htm.
Greater Than the Sum: Systems Thinking in Tobacco Control. Tobacco Control Monograph No. 18. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 06-6085. http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/18/
Awards
The CDC-NIH System Dynamics Collaborative for Disease Control and Prevention recently received the inaugural Applied Systems Thinking Prize awarded by the Applied Systems Thinking Institute (ASysT). The nine-member winning team includes Dr. Patricia Mabry of NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. The ASysT prize is awarded for a significant accomplishment achieved through application of systems thinking to a problem in national security, energy, environment, health care or education.
For more information on the prize, please go to http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2008/10_03_2008/milestones.htm.
Training in Systems Science
A summer course for training Ph.D. level investigators in systems science methodologies is planned for summer 2009. STAY TUNED FOR A CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED. If you wish to be notified when this call comes out, be sure to join the listserv (see instructions below).
Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSSR) Systems Science Listserv
The Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSSR) Systems Science Listserv was established in October 2007and is a resource for news and events at the intersection of systems science, behavioral and social sciences, and health. For example, lectures of interest, training opportunities, and funding announcements are posted there. To subscribe to this list, simply send an email to mabryp@od.nih.gov with full contact info, including name, title, degree, institutional affiliation, department, discipline, email address, and phone number, and you will be added to the listserv.
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Webcast/podcast instructions for 2007 Symposia Series on System Science and Health - click "play" or "podcast" button below to start the show. |
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