ArticleInternational journal of health policy and management2023
Systems Thinking and Complexity Science Methods and the Policy Process in Non-communicable Disease Prevention: A Systematic Scoping Review.
Article in International journal of health policy and management, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- System dynamics modelling methods for public health policy evaluation: a systematic literature review focussing on mental health and substance use disorders.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Disrupting antimicrobial resistance in food systems from a One Health perspective: a complex systems analysis in Canada, Senegal and the Netherlands.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
- Dismantling structural inequities in global prevention of childhood and adolescent non-communicable diseases.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Explanatory Modeling of Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes: The Role of Community Engagement and Clinical Governance.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Understanding the dynamics of implementing the Norwegian School Fruit Programme: integrating implementation science and system dynamics.Implementation science communications · 2025Article
- Interconnections between the food system and antimicrobial resistance: A systems-informed umbrella review from a One Health perspective.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Towards a complex systems model of evidence for public health.BMJ global health · 2025Review
- Wildlife policy, the food system and One Health: a complex systems analysis of unintended consequences for the prevention of emerging zoonoses in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Philippines.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- A novel social-network-analysis-based approach for analyzing complex network of actors involved in accessibility of anti-cancer medications in Iran.Health research policy and systems · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGiven the complex determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the dynamic policy landscape, researchers and policymakers are exploring the use of systems thinking and complexity science (STCS) in developing effective policies. The aim of this review is to systematically identify and analyse existing applications of STCS-informed methods in NCD prevention policy.
methodsSystematic scoping review: We searched academic databases (Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE) for all publications indexed by 13 October 2020, screening titles, abstracts and full texts and extracting data according to published guidelines. We summarised key data from each study, mapping applications of methods informed by STCS to policy process domains. We conducted a thematic analysis to identify advantages, limitations, barriers and facilitators to using STCS.
results4681 papers were screened and 112 papers were included in this review. The most common policy areas were tobacco control, obesity prevention and physical activity promotion. Methods applied included system dynamics modelling, agent-based modelling and concept mapping. Advantages included supporting evidence-informed decision-making; modelling complex systems and addressing multi-sectoral problems. Limitations included the abstraction of reality by STCS methods, despite aims of encompassing greater complexity. Challenges included resource-intensiveness; lack of stakeholder trust in models; and results that were too complex to be comprehensible to stakeholders. Ensuring stakeholder ownership and presenting findings in a user-friendly way facilitated STCS use.
conclusionThis review maps the proliferating applications of STCS methods in NCD prevention policy. STCS methods have the potential to generate tailored and dynamic evidence, adding robustness to evidence-informed policymaking, but must be accessible to policy stakeholders and have strong stakeholder ownership to build consensus and change stakeholder perspectives. Evaluations of whether, and under what circumstances, STCS methods lead to more effective policies compared to conventional methods are lacking, and would enable more targeted and constructive use of these methods.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.