A sharing by:
Dr Jiang Nan, Department of Social Work, NUS

Moderated by:
Dr Ong Qiyan, Social Service Research Centre, NUS

Time: 4:00pm to 5:00pm (Webinar link will open at 3.45pm)

Abstract:

Objectives: We assessed how systems science methodologies might be used to bridge resource gaps at local health departments (LHDs) so that they might better implement evidence-based decision-making (EBDM) to address population health challenges.

Methods: We used an agent-based model (ABM) to predict dietary behaviours of individuals at the neighbourhood levels. We used survey data from 2014 NYC Community Health Survey, United States Census data, and the literature to evaluate health outcomes and validate simulation results.

Results: All interventions would lead to increases in fruit and vegetable consumption but the results vary substantially across neighbourhoods. The impact of increasing the number of vendors on fruit/vegetable consumption is more pronounced in unhealthier local food environments while the impact of reducing prices on fruits/vegetable consumption is more pronounced in neighbourhoods with low levels of education.

Conclusions: The use of systems science methodologies might be a novel and efficient way to systematically address a number of EBDM adoption barriers at LHDs.

Presenter's profile:

Dr Jiang Nan | Department of Social Work, NUS
Dr Jiang Nan is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the National University of Singapore. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from Columbia University. Her research interests include ageing and the life course, psychosocial factors’ influence on health over the life course, and family caregiving. She was a fellow of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, responsible for developing big data and cost-effective analysis to inform health policies and programs for preventing chronic diseases in New York City. Over the last 10 years of her experience in the social work field, Dr Jiang has been greatly involved in policy planning and development as well as indirect practice in areas pertaining to old-age welfare, family caregiving, and social support.

Moderator's profile:

Dr Ong Qiyan | Deputy Director, Social Service Research Centre, NUS
Dr. Ong Qiyan is a Deputy Director of Research with the Social Service Research Centre. She specializes in using behavioral and applied economics to study individual decision-making and the effects and performances of different policy designs. Her research spans a range of behavioral domains. Her recent research includes studies on cognitive reasons for debt in low-income households, performance of transnational marriage support programs and social service office models, as well as performance of different types of incentives on motivating prosocial behavior.

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