Research team: Peter Dung (TU/e), Callum Gunn (UMCU), Anouk de Regt (UU), Kristina Thompson (WUR).
Contact team: kristina.thompson [at] wur.nl.
Introduction
A complex system is different from the mere sum of its parts, and is an increasingly popular concept when studying phenomena in modern health research. But what does considering complexity add beyond buzzwords and blue-sky thinking? And does this concept mean the same thing when applied by different disciplines?
This project will help answer these questions. Researchers from different disciplines – physics, demography, marketing and sociology – will attempt to reach a common understanding of what complex systems approaches can bring to health research.
To do so, we reflexively apply a complex systems lens to a case study, digital health monitoring with smart technology. This involves a host of different factors – technology, human behavior, medicine, data – that interact and can produce results greater than the sums of their parts. We will examine how such a lens can enrich the implementation of these technologies whilst learning more about how complex systems concepts travel across disciplinary boundaries.
Team
We are a team of researchers from diverse fields: physics and nonlinear dynamics (Peter, TU/e), marketing (Anouk, UU), health and society (Kristina, WUR), and sociology/science and technology studies (Callum, UMCU). Our epistemological traditions range from positivist and pragmatist to constructivist, and our methodological approaches include both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Process
We initially came up with the theme of complex systems, focusing on how technology, society, and humans interact with each other. Later, we refined this theme to “digital health monitoring,” which better aligns with our backgrounds and interests (see “Topic” below for further elaboration).
Since none of us were experts in this field at the beginning, we are currently conducting a literature review and interviewing experts. We have visited each other and individually and sometimes collectively attended workshops and conferences related to our topic.
Topic
How does the theme of “digital health monitoring” relate to our team’s background and interests? For example, the business of wearables and digital technology ties into marketing. The way humans perceive wearables and how these devices empower individuals to understand themselves can be analyzed through an embodiment perspective. The impact of wearables and digital health monitoring on health outcomes is relevant to public health. Additionally, modeling the dynamics of individuals adopting wearables and exploring the potential use of networks is connected to physics.
In this Spark phase, we are focusing on wearables, human experience, and physical activity. However, we are also mindful of other important topics, such as the ethical, legal, and regulatory concerns surrounding personal data and digital power, the governance challenges coupled with public health, and the complexity of involving multiple stakeholders—users, healthcare providers, companies, and governments. We are also aware of the complexity of data and its integration from clinical and biological perspectives. A complex systems approach may offer valuable insights into addressing these issues from a systemic point of view.
Output
We are currently conducting a literature review and interviewing experts, focusing on wearables, human experience, and physical activity. We aim to publish a paper based on our findings for this Spark phase.