Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Prev Sci. 2013 Jun;14(3):279-89. doi: 10.1007/s11121-012-0285-2.
The problems targeted by preventive interventions are often complex, embedded in multiple levels of social and environmental context, and span the developmental lifespan. Despite this appreciation for multiple levels and systems of influence, prevention science has yet to apply analytic approaches that can satisfactorily address the complexities with which it is faced. In this article, we introduce a systems science approach to problem solving and methods especially equipped to handle complex relationships and their evolution over time. Progress in prevention science may be significantly enhanced by applying approaches that can examine a wide array of complex systems interactions among biology, behavior, and environment that jointly yield unique combinations of developmental risk and protective factors and outcomes. To illustrate the potential utility of a systems science approach, we present examples of current prevention research challenges, and propose how to complement traditional methods and augment research objectives by applying systems science methodologies.
预防干预针对的问题往往很复杂，嵌入在多层次的社会和环境背景中，跨越整个发展生命周期。尽管人们已经意识到多个层次和系统的影响，但预防科学仍未能应用分析方法来满意地解决其所面临的复杂性。在本文中，我们介绍了一种系统科学方法来解决问题，以及特别适合处理复杂关系及其随时间演变的方法。通过应用能够检查生物学、行为和环境之间广泛的复杂系统相互作用的方法，共同产生独特的发展风险和保护因素以及结果组合，预防科学的进展可能会得到显著提高。为了说明系统科学方法的潜在效用，我们提出了当前预防研究挑战的实例，并提出了如何通过应用系统科学方法来补充传统方法和增强研究目标。
