American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on May 13, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 168(1):1-8; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn118
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A New Tool for Epidemiology: The Usefulness of Dynamic-Agent Models in Understanding Place Effects on Health
From the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Correspondence to Amy H. Auchincloss, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 109 Observatory Street, SPH Tower, Room 3655, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 (e-mail: aauchinc{at}umich.edu).
Received for publication September 25, 2007. Accepted for publication January 29, 2008.
A major focus of recent work on the spatial patterning of health has been the study of how features of residential environments or neighborhoods may affect health. Place effects on health emerge from complex interdependent processes in which individuals interact with each other and their environment and in which both individuals and environments adapt and change over time. Traditional epidemiologic study designs and statistical regression approaches are unable to examine these dynamic processes. These limitations have constrained the types of questions asked, the answers received, and the hypotheses and theoretical explanations that are developed. Agent-based models and other systems-dynamics models may help to address some of these challenges. Agent-based models are computer representations of systems consisting of heterogeneous microentities that can interact and change/adapt over time in response to other agents and features of the environment. Using these models, one can observe how macroscale dynamics emerge from microscale interactions and adaptations. A number of challenges and limitations exist for agent-based modeling. Nevertheless, use of these dynamic models may complement traditional epidemiologic analyses and yield additional insights into the processes involved and the interventions that may be most useful.
computer simulation; environment and public health; epidemiologic methods; health behavior; models, theoretical; residence characteristics; systems theory
Editor's Note: An invited commentary on this article appears on page 9.
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