Emergence and complexity in public health
Presenter Biography
Lela brings a unique perspective and background of tangible experiences to public health, having pursued many seemingly disparate paths, including working as a journeyman commercial plumber, living as a nomadic herder, and getting a bachelors degree studying the use of narrative in traditional ecological knowledge. They run a small family farm in the city and help run a long term citizen science project documenting wildlife of Mt Hood using animal tracking.
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Environmental Health Systems
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Presentation
Room Location
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294
Start Date
April 2019
End Date
April 2019
Rights
© Copyright the author(s)
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30978
Abstract
Cyclic and interconnected processes are behind every aspect of life, from weather to gene flow. Many of the areas of highest concern in public health have elements of social and environmental complexity that can not be addressed using reductionist methods, including climate change, health inequalities, and vaccine skepticism. Improving our understanding of complex systems can inform public health analysis and interventions.
A linear view of cause and effect in public health research has limitations, and public health inquiries are still straining to make use of the concept of complex systems. Just outside of the causal pathway are complex interactions of social, natural, and built environments. Some public health approaches have intuitively or explicitly been managing this complexity, and our field can continue to build explicit models and approaches for addressing and understanding things like scale, hybrid systems, feedback loops, emergent properties, and nonlinear processes. Managing public health interventions based on overall rules of complexity can bring communities closer to wellbeing, sustainability, and resilience.
Emergence and complexity in public health
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294
Cyclic and interconnected processes are behind every aspect of life, from weather to gene flow. Many of the areas of highest concern in public health have elements of social and environmental complexity that can not be addressed using reductionist methods, including climate change, health inequalities, and vaccine skepticism. Improving our understanding of complex systems can inform public health analysis and interventions.
A linear view of cause and effect in public health research has limitations, and public health inquiries are still straining to make use of the concept of complex systems. Just outside of the causal pathway are complex interactions of social, natural, and built environments. Some public health approaches have intuitively or explicitly been managing this complexity, and our field can continue to build explicit models and approaches for addressing and understanding things like scale, hybrid systems, feedback loops, emergent properties, and nonlinear processes. Managing public health interventions based on overall rules of complexity can bring communities closer to wellbeing, sustainability, and resilience.