scholarly journals Situating agent-based modelling in population health research

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Silverman ◽  
Umberto Gostoli ◽  
Stefano Picascia ◽  
Jonatan Almagor ◽  
Mark McCann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Epidemiological Methods ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Complex Systems Theory ◽  
Current State ◽  
Core Concepts

AbstractToday’s most troublesome population health challenges are often driven by social and environmental determinants, which are difficult to model using traditional epidemiological methods. We agree with those who have argued for the wider adoption of agent-based modelling (ABM) in taking on these challenges. However, while ABM has been used occasionally in population health, we argue that for ABM to be most effective in the field it should be used as a means for answering questions normally inaccessible to the traditional epidemiological toolkit. In an effort to clearly illustrate the utility of ABM for population health research, and to clear up persistent misunderstandings regarding the method’s conceptual underpinnings, we offer a detailed presentation of the core concepts of complex systems theory, and summarise why simulations are essential to the study of complex systems. We then examine the current state of the art in ABM for population health, and propose they are well-suited for the study of the ‘wicked’ problems in population health, and could make significant contributions to theory and intervention development in these areas.

scholarly journals Towards a complex systems approach in sports injury research: simulating running-related injury development with agent-based modelling

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 560-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Hulme ◽  
Jason Thompson ◽  
Rasmus Oestergaard Nielsen ◽  
Gemma J M Read ◽  
Paul M Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Sports Injury ◽  
Physical Workload ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Injury Research

ObjectivesThere have been recent calls for the application of the complex systems approach in sports injury research. However, beyond theoretical description and static models of complexity, little progress has been made towards formalising this approach in way that is practical to sports injury scientists and clinicians. Therefore, our objective was to use a computational modelling method and develop a dynamic simulation in sports injury research.MethodsAgent-based modelling (ABM) was used to model the occurrence of sports injury in a synthetic athlete population. The ABM was developed based on sports injury causal frameworks and was applied in the context of distance running-related injury (RRI). Using the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR), we simulated the dynamic relationship between changes in weekly running distance and RRI through the manipulation of various ‘athlete management tools’.ResultsThe findings confirmed that building weekly running distances over time, even within the reported ACWR ‘sweet spot’, will eventually result in RRI as athletes reach and surpass their individual physical workload limits. Introducing training-related error into the simulation and the modelling of a ‘hard ceiling’ dynamic resulted in a higher RRI incidence proportion across the population at higher absolute workloads.ConclusionsThe presented simulation offers a practical starting point to further apply more sophisticated computational models that can account for the complex nature of sports injury aetiology. Alongside traditional forms of scientific inquiry, the use of ABM and other simulation-based techniques could be considered as a complementary and alternative methodological approach in sports injury research.

scholarly journals IPA (V1): A framework for agent-based modelling of soil water movement

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mewes ◽  
Andreas H. Schumann
Keyword(s):  
Water Movement ◽  
Soil Column ◽  
Nonlinear Behaviour ◽  
Soil System ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Current State ◽  
Physical Laws

Abstract. In the last decade, agent-based modelling (ABM) became a popular modelling technique in social sciences, medicine, biology and ecology. ABM was designed to simulate systems that are highly dynamic and sensitive to small variations in their composition and their state. As hydrological systems, and natural systems in general, often show dynamic and nonlinear behaviour, ABM can be an appropriate way to model these systems. Nevertheless, only few studies have utilized ABM method for process-based modelling in hydrology. The percolation of water through the unsaturated soil is highly responsive to the current state of the soil system, small variations in composition lead to major changes in the transport system. Hence, we present a new approach for modelling the movement of water through a soil column: autonomous water agents that transport water through the soil while interacting with their environment as well as with other agents under physical laws.

Designing Population Health Research Grounded in Complex Systems Science

2020 ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Leah Frerichs ◽  
Natalie R. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Dynamic Complexity ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Computational Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Systems Mapping

There have been increasing calls to use complex systems research approaches to address pressing population health problems. To respond to this call, the authors argue that researchers must shift their thinking in how they design population health research studies. Although designing research from a complex systems approach follows the same basic steps as traditional studies that are anchored in statistical, deductive research, new elements of dynamic complexity must be taken into account. This chapter provides an overview of designing research grounded in complex systems. It details the research design steps following a complex systems approach, emphasizing the initial stages of defining and narrowing the research focus. Complex systems issues compel researchers to define objectives and ask questions about how factors such as interconnections, delays between cause and effect, and nonlinear relationships influence outcomes of interest. The initial questions subsequently shape the research design and approach, where systems mapping and computational modeling and simulation methods are often highly relevant. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the complementary and synergistic nature of complex systems and traditional research approaches.

scholarly journals IPA (v1): a framework for agent-based modelling of soil water movement

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2175-2187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mewes ◽  
Andreas H. Schumann
Keyword(s):  
Water Movement ◽  
Soil Column ◽  
Soil System ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Current State ◽  
Linear Behaviour ◽  
Physical Laws

Abstract. In the last decade, agent-based modelling (ABM) became a popular modelling technique in social sciences, medicine, biology, and ecology. ABM was designed to simulate systems that are highly dynamic and sensitive to small variations in their composition and their state. As hydrological systems, and natural systems in general, often show dynamic and non-linear behaviour, ABM can be an appropriate way to model these systems. Nevertheless, only a few studies have utilized the ABM method for process-based modelling in hydrology. The percolation of water through the unsaturated soil is highly responsive to the current state of the soil system; small variations in composition lead to major changes in the transport system. Hence, we present a new approach for modelling the movement of water through a soil column: autonomous water agents that transport water through the soil while interacting with their environment as well as with other agents under physical laws.

scholarly journals Principles and State of the Art of Agent-Based Migration Modelling

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Martin Hinsch ◽  
Jakub Bijak
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Individual Behaviour ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Current State

AbstractMigration as an individual behaviour as well as a macro-level phenomenon happens as part of hugely complex social systems. Understanding migration and its consequences therefore necessitates adopting a careful analytical approach using appropriate tools, such as agent-based models. Still, any model can only be specific to the question it attempts to answer. This chapter provides a general discussion of the key tenets related to modelling complex systems, followed by a review of the current state of the art in the simulation modelling of migration. The subsequent focus of the discussion on the key principles for modelling migration processes, and the context in which they occur, allows for identifying the main knowledge gaps in the existing approaches and for providing practical advice for modellers. In this chapter, we also introduce a model of migration route formation, which is subsequently used as a running example throughout this book.

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