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It is widely accepted that population health is a product of the environments and systems that we live within. The food we consume, the activity we undertake, the broader health-related behaviours that we practice are all influenced by a complex web of interconnected drivers, not limited to our social connections, built environment, the commercial determinants, political factors, and the wider determinants of health. In the last decade, we have seen a surging interest in the application of systems science within our discipline. This relates to the methods and methodologies used to study these complex phenomena, the implementation of multi-sectoral systems approaches, and the application of a systems lens to evaluating public health efforts. However, work within this discipline is challenging, not only due to the novelty and complicated nature of the methods, but also due to a substantive lack of collective agreement as to what we all mean by systems approaches, systems science, systems thinking, whole-of-systems approaches to name but a few.
This SIG is associated with the Systems Evaluation Network (SEN). The SEN focuses specifically on the use of systems-orientated methods and evaluation designs which are being applied within the public health sphere. This is a virtual and international community of over 750 people (50:50 split, academics to policy-makers and practitioners) who meet every quarter to share and discuss innovative methodological updates from the field. Whilst many SEN members are also ISBNPA members of, a large proportion will not previously have engaged with ISBNPA and may therefore represent potential future ISBNPA members. The SEN and the proposed SIG will be complementary to one another.
Goals
There has been a growing body of systems science research submitted to, and presented within, the ISBNPA annual conferences and the IJBNPA (1199 hits for “systems science” papers in the journal). The systems-orientated symposia at the 2023 ISBNPA conference were also at capacity, signifying the level of interest in such topics at the conferences themselves. Therefore, the timing feels right to have a SIG which focuses specifically on the application of systems science in dietary, physical activity, and broader population health related fields. The broad aims for the SIG are to:
– Showcase the innovative systems science work within the ISBNPA remit.
– Raise the profile of systems science, and its utility, within the ISBNPA remit.
– Identify the strengths and weaknesses of current systems science application and identify opportunities for its advancement.
– Create a dedicated network of ISBNPA members who seek to advance the use of systems science.
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SIG Leadership
(Co-chair) Dr James Nobles, Senior Research Fellow, School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, UK.
(Co-chair) Dr Alexandra Potts, Senior Lecturer, School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, UK.
Dr Angie Luna Pinzon, Post Doctoral Researcher, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands.
Dr Anneke Vang Hjort, Researcher, Centre for Childhood Health, Denmark.
Dr Candice Christie, Associate Professor, Rhodes University, South Africa.
Eline Meuleman, PhD student, Vrije University, Netherlands.
Dr Harriet Wingfield, Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Dr Jennifer Hall, Senior Research Fellow, Born in Bradford, UK.
Dr Laura Belmon, Post-doctoral Researcher, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands.
Dr Leandro Garcia, Lecturer, Queens University Belfast, UK.
Dr Nicole den Braver, Assistant Professor, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands.
Professor Steven Allender, Professor, University of Deakin, Australia.