Complexity Science (CS) Work Group

The Complexity Science Work Group seeks to promote the application of complexity science principles to the conduct and interpretation of primary care research. Although the SIG meets only once each year, the SIG communicates throughout the year via the Complexity Science listserv.

Leadership
U.S. Co-chair: Richard Young, MD
Non-U.S. Co-chair: Carmel Martin, MBBS, MSc, PhD, MRCGP, FRACGP, FAFPHM

 

Products

To date, the Work Group has achieved the following:

  1. Establishment of a complexity science listserv and monthly conference calls
  2. Annual tracks of paper and poster complexity science presentations at NAPCRG
  3. Development of a complexity science curriculum
  4. Creation of complexity science modules on NAPCRG website
  5. Inclusion of term “complexity science” for submissions
  6. Identification of a cadre of reviewers in complexity science
  7. Development of “Complexity Science Forum” in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
  8. Assistance with the development of the International Society for Systems and Complexity Sciences for Health

Publications
2020-2024 by members of the CASFM Complexity Science Working Group
*Bolded citations include more than one CCSWG member

  1. Garrison GM, Dilger BT. Quantifying organization of care in a complex healthcare environment. J Eval Clin Pract. 2020 Oct;26(5):1548-1551. doi: 10.1111/jep.13392. Epub 2020 Mar 26.PMID: 32216171.
  2. Young, RA, Nelson, MJ, Castellon, RE, Martin, CM. Improving quality in a complex primary care system—An example of refugee care and literature review. J Eval Clin Pract. 2020;e13430. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13430
  3. Sturmberg JP, Martin CM. Universal health care - A matter of design and agency? J Eval Clin Pract. 2020.
  4. Sturmberg JP, Martin CM. COVID-19 - how a pandemic reveals that everything is connected to everything else. J Eval Clin Pract. 2020.
  5. Martin CM, Hinkley N, Stockman K, Campbell D. Potentially preventable hospitalizations-The 'pre-hospital syndrome': Retrospective observations from the MonashWatch self-reported health journey study in Victoria, Australia. J Eval Clin Pract. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13460.
  6. Sturmberg JP. Health and Disease are Patterned _ A New Paradigm for Healthcare. Frontiers in
    Psychiatry - Psychosomatic Medicine 2021;12:595124. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.595124.
  7. Sturmberg JP. Changing the Paradigm of Research: More 'Piecemeal knowledge' does not lead to
    'Better understanding'. Commentary on Turcotte et al. (2021). The Shiny New Object: Deconstructing
    the Patient-Oriented Paradigm in Health Sciences. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare.
    2021;9(2):xx-xx.
  8. Paul EM, Brown GW, Kalk A, Van Damme W, Ridde V and Sturmberg JP. _When my Information
    Changes, I Alter my Conclusions._ What can we Learn from the Failures to Adaptively Respond to the
    SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Under-Preparedness of Health Systems to Manage Covid-19? Internati-
    onal Journal of Health Policy and Management 2020; https://dx.doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2020.240
  9. Sturmberg JP, Getz L, Stange KC, Upsuhr REG and Mercer SW. Beyond multimorbidity: can
    we learn anything from complexity science? Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice htt-
    ps://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jep.13521.
  10. Sturmberg JP. Covid-19 highlights the failings of the health system as a whole. BMJ 2020;370:m3329.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3329.
  11. Stumberg JP. Want Improved Quality? Improve Your Systems. J Eval Clin Pract 2020.
  12. Sturmberg JP, Tsasis P and Hoemeke L. COVID19 - An opportunity to redesign health
    policy thinking. International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2020; htt-
    ps://dx.doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2020.132.
  13. Sturmberg JP. Person-centeredness - A Paradigm Shift for Healthcare? From Disease as a "Structural
    Problem"to Health, Illness and Disease as the Emergent Outcomes of Complex Adaptive Physi-
    ological Network Function. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare. 2020;8(2):164-172.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.5750/ejpch.v8i2.1839. 
  14. Sturmberg JP and Martin CM. COVID-19 - how a pandemic reveals that everything is connected to
    everything else. J Eval Clin Pract. 2020; . https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jep.13419. 
  15. Sturmberg JP. Without Systems and Complexity Thinking there is No Progress - or Why Bureaucracy
    Needs to Become Curious. Comment on "What Can Policy-Makers Get Out of Systems Thinking?
    Policy Partners' Experiences of a Systems-Focused Research Collaboration in Preventive Health". In-
    ternational Journal of Health Policy and Management 2020; . https://dx.doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2020.45. 
  16. Anita D. Misra-Hebert, MichaelB. Rothberg, Jaqueline Fox, Xinge Ji Bo Hu, Alex Milinovich, William Zafirau, Anthony Onuzuruike, Kurt C. Stange. Healthcare utilization and patient and provider experience with a home visit program for patients discharged from the hospital at high risk for readmission. Healthcare 2021.
  17. John M. Westfall, Winston Liaw, Kim Griswold, Kurt Stange, Larry A. Green, Robert Phillips, Andrew Bazemore, Carlos Roberto Jaén, Lauren S. Hughes, Jen DeVoe, Heidi Gullett, James C. Puffer and Robin S. Gotler. Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
    The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine February 2021, 34 (Supplement) S203-S209; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2021.S1.200458.
  18. Stange KC (2020) Commentary: RE-AIM Planning and Evaluation Framework: Adapting to New Science and Practice With a 20-Year Review. Front. Public Health 8:245. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00245.
  19. Joachim P Sturmberg and Carmel M Martin. Implementing cardiovascular disease preventive care guidelines in general practice: an opportunity missed. Med J Aust 2021; 215 (4). doi: 10.5694/mja2.51193. 
  20. Sturmberg, Joachim P.; Martin, Carmel M. How to cope with uncertainty? Start by looking for patterns and emergent knowledge. J Eval Clin Pract 2021; 27(5): 1168-1171. DOI: 10.1111/jep.13596.
  21. Joachim P Sturmberg and Carmel M Martin. Universal Health (UHC) and Primary Health Care (PHC)—A complex dynamic endeavor. J Eval Clin Pract 2022; 28(1): 1168-1171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13654.
  22. Joachim P Sturmberg and Carmel M Martin. Complexity sciences: Applied philosophy to solve real-world wicked problems. J Eval Clin Pract 2022; 28:1169-1172. dOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13781.
  23. Carmel Martin, Joachim Sturmberg, Richard Young, Ginetta Salvalaggio, Miranda Moore and Kurt Stange. Superutilization - a Position Statement from the CASFM Complexity Working Group. The Annals of Family Medicine November 2023, 21 (Supplement 3) 5256; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.22.s1.5256.
  24. Joachim P. Sturmberg, Carmel M. Martin. From theory to practice: The pragmatic value of applying systems thinking and complexity sciences in healthcare. J Eval Clin Pract 2024;30:149‐152, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13979.
  25. Richard A. Young, Carmel M. Martin, Joachim P. Sturmberg, Sally Hall, Andrew Bazemore, Ioannis A. Kakadiaris and Steven Lin. What Complexity Science Predicts About the Potential of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning to Improve Primary Care. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine March 2024, 37 (2) 332-345; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2023.230219R1.

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