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Integrating complex systems science into road safety research and practice, part 1: review of formative concepts
  1. Rebecca B Naumann1,
  2. Jill Kuhlberg2,
  3. Laura Sandt3,
  4. Stephen Heiny3,
  5. Yorghos Apostolopoulos4,
  6. Stephen W Marshall1,
  7. Kristen Hassmiller Lich2
  1. 1 Epidemiology Dept and Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  2. 2 Health Policy and Management Dept, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  3. 3 University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  4. 4 Health and Kinesiology Dept, Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rebecca B Naumann, Epidemiology and Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; rnaumann{at}unc.edu

Abstract

Many of our most persistent public health problems are complex problems. They arise from a web of factors that interact and change over time and may exhibit resistance to intervention efforts. The domain of systems science provides several tools to help injury prevention researchers and practitioners examine deep, complex and persistent problems and identify opportunities to intervene. Using the increase in pedestrian death rates as an example, we provide (1) an accessible overview of how complex systems science approaches can augment established injury prevention frameworks and (2) a straightforward example of how specific systems science tools can deepen understanding, with a goal of ultimately informing action.

  • systems science
  • injury prevention
  • road safety
  • complexity
  • pedestrian

https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043315

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors contributed to the writing of this manuscript and have approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding This project was supported by the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety (https://www.roadsafety.unc.edu), a United States Department of Transportation National University Transportation Center (award no. 69A3551747113). The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center is supported by an award (R49/CE0042479) from the CDC.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.