Agent-Based Modelling of Health Inequalities following the Complexity Turn in Public Health: A Systematic Review

Jennifer Boyd (), Rebekah Wilson, Corinna Elsenbroich, Alison Heppenstall and Petra Meier
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Jennifer Boyd: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
Rebekah Wilson: College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
Corinna Elsenbroich: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
Alison Heppenstall: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
Petra Meier: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: There is an increasing focus on the role of complexity in public health and public policy fields which has brought about a methodological shift towards computational approaches. This includes agent-based modelling (ABM), a method used to simulate individuals, their behaviour and interactions with each other, and their social and physical environment. This paper aims to systematically review the use of ABM to simulate the generation or persistence of health inequalities. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (1 January 2013–15 November 2022) were searched, supplemented with manual reference list searching. Twenty studies were included; fourteen of them described models of health behaviours, most commonly relating to diet ( n = 7). Six models explored health outcomes, e.g., morbidity, mortality, and depression. All of the included models involved heterogeneous agents and were dynamic, with agents making decisions, growing older, and/or becoming exposed to different health risks. Eighteen models represented physical space and in eleven models, agents interacted with other agents through social networks. ABM is increasingly contributing to our understanding of the socioeconomic inequalities in health. However, to date, the majority of these models focus on the differences in health behaviours. Future research should attempt to investigate the social and economic drivers of health inequalities using ABM.

Keywords: health inequality; agent-based modelling; simulation; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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