Despite major investment in both research and policy, many pressing contemporary public health challenges remain. To date, the evidence underpinning responses to these challenges has largely been generated by tools and methods that were developed to answer questions about the effectiveness of clinical interventions, and as such are grounded in linear models of cause and effect. Identification, implementation, and evaluation of effective responses to major public health challenges require a wider set of approaches 1 Academy of Medical SciencesImproving the health of the public by 2040: optimising the research environment for a healthier, fairer future. September, 2016https://acmedsci.ac.uk/policy/policy-projects/health-of-the-public-in-2040 Google Scholar , 2 Gerhardus A Becher H Groenewegen P et al. Applying for, reviewing and funding public health research in Germany and beyond. Health Res Policy Syst. 2016; 14: 43 Crossref PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar and a focus on complex systems. 3 Diez Roux AV Complex systems thinking and current impasses in health disparities research. Am J Public Health. 2011; 101: 1627-1634 Crossref PubMed Scopus (240) Google Scholar , 4 Fink DS Keyes KM Wrong answers: when simple interpretations create complex problems. in: El-Sayed AM Galea S Systems science and population health. Oxford University Press, New York2017: 25-36 Crossref Google Scholar Planetary health: a new sociopolitical framework is urgently neededWe welcome the Lecture by Samuel S Myers (Dec 23, 2017, p 2860)1 on planetary health. Paul J Crutzen assigned the term Anthropocene to “the present, in many ways human-dominated, geological epoch”.2 The capacity of mankind to shape its own habitat is a major environmental force. More than 15 000 scientists proclaimed that urgent changes are needed to avoid the consequences of humanity's impact on the environment and reverse the trend of collapsing the delicate planetary health.3 Full-Text PDF Systems modelling tools to support policy and planningIn their Viewpoint, Harry Rutter and colleagues (Dec 9, 2017, p 2602)1 make another welcomed call for increased uptake and investment in systems modelling tools to provide evidence better suited to addressing complex public health problems. We note the authors' assessment that systems modelling tools and approaches are “rarely operationalised in ways that generate relevant evidence” to support public health policy and practice. We disagree with this assessment and provide a broader perspective to show the efforts and progress in using systems modelling tools to support complex public health problems. Full-Text PDF Research and training recommendations for public health data scienceThe 2019 Next Generation Public Health meeting provided several useful recommendations on how big data and artificial intelligence (AI) could enhance public health.1 To realise the full benefits of these developments, I propose two further recommendations. First, research studies should be done that will enable us to better understand the strengths, limitations, and applications of these new tools and data. Second, we need to train individuals who can bridge a skills gap that will enable the public health science community to fully engage with these developments. Full-Text PDF Open Access

The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health