Introduction to Health Systems Simulation for Policy
Thursday, October 23, 2014, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT
Background: Simulations are mathematical models that combine evidence from research and other sources to approximate how real-life systems behave under particular conditions. They can help researchers and policymakers in several ways. These models help translate research and other evidence into a form that decision makers can readily understand. One can experiment virtually with policy levers or other interventions to understand how they affect outcomes of interest. Simulation can be a tool for discussion, collaboration, and ‘big picture’ thinking among researchers, analysts, and policymakers throughout the policymaking process. And finally, simulation can help researchers identify policy- relevant holes in the research literature.
Overview: This free webinar is the first in a two-part introductory series for health services researchers at all stages of their careers, public and population health professionals, and those from the policy arena interested in learning about simulation models and how to use them.
In the first webinar, Patty Mabry, with the National Institutes of Health, will provide an overview of simulation models and how they can help us better understand public health and health care systems. Subsequent speakers will draw on specific examples to review the three major types of health systems simulation models, which differ in their emphases. Bobby Milstein, from The Fannie E. Rippel Foundation, will discuss system dynamics models, which focus on interactions among populations within a system. This type of model is particularly useful in understanding ‘feedback loops,’ the cyclical interactions among the different populations that make up a system. Danielle Varda, from the University of Colorado Denver, will discuss network analysis, a tool that focuses on the structure of relationships between individuals or groups and can be used to understand specific connections and collaboration among subgroups in a community. Finally, Ernest Moy, with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and current AcademyHealth Innovator-in-Residence, will discuss agent-based modeling, a tool that focuses on demonstrating the interaction among individual ‘agents’ (i.e. either people or groups in a complex system) and how they can both change and be changed by their environment.
Faculty: Michael Gluck, Ph.D., M.P.P., AcademyHealth (moderator); Patty Mabry, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health; Bobby Milstein, Ph.D., M.P.H., The Fannie E. Rippel Foundation; Danielle Varda, Ph.D., University of Colorado Denver; Ernest Moy, M.D., M.P.H., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Learning Objectives:
This free webinar will provide:
- An overview of simulation and how it can be applied to public health and health care systems.
- A description of the three main types of simulations and their uses in public health and health care.
- An understanding of when, why, and how simulations can improve policymaker and researcher understanding of complex policy decisions.
Course Level: 101 (Introductory)
The second webinar, Effective Use of Simulation to Guide Health Policy will take place on Friday, November 14, 2014 from 1:00-2:30pm EDT and will discuss experiences and lessons learned for using and communicating about models to policymakers. Speakers include Ross A. Hammond, Ph.D., The Brookings Institution; Karen J. Minyard, Ph.D., R.N., Georgia Health Policy Center; Dylan George, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and J. Jaime Caro, McGill University. Please click here for more information or to register.
Acknowledgement: This webinar series is hosted by AcademyHealth’s Translation and Dissemination Institute and Public Health Systems Research program, with support from Kaiser Permanente and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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