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Addressing Complexity in Chronic Disease Prevention Research

Version 2 2024-06-02, 22:53
Version 1 2023-10-16, 04:05
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-02, 22:53 authored by Melanie Pescud, Lucie Rychetnik, Sharon Friel, Michelle J Irving, Therese Riley, Diane T Finegood, Harry Rutter, Ray Ison, Steven AllenderSteven Allender
There is wide agreement on the need for systems thinking to address complexity in chronic disease prevention but there is insufficient understanding of how such approaches are operationalised in prevention research. Ison and Straw propose that to address complexity, the right balance must be struck between ‘systemic’ and ‘systematic’ paradigms. We examined the nature and characteristics of this relationship in a series of six qualitative case studies of prevention research. Data comprised 29 semi-structured interviews with 16 participants, and online documents. The analysis combined inductive methods from grounded theory with a theoretically informed framework analysis. Systemic and systematic ways of working varied across each case as a whole, and within the dimensions of each case. Further, the interplay of systemic and systematic approaches was described along a dynamic continuum of variable proportions, with greater emphasis on systemic aspects balanced by less focus on the systematic, and vice versa. By expanding the boundaries for exploring prevention research, we gained empirical understanding of the potential and scope of systemic and systematic paradigms for addressing complexity in prevention research. There is inherent value in being more explicitly conscious and bilingual in both systemic and systematic paradigms so that their respective value and strengths may be utilised. Our findings propose a coherent theoretical frame to better understand existing approaches for addressing complexity in prevention research.

History

Journal

Systems

Volume

11

Article number

332

Pagination

1-35

Location

Basel, Switzerland

ISSN

2079-8954

eISSN

2079-8954

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

7

Publisher

MDPI

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