Addressing the complexity in the room

Organisers

• Dr. Cornelia Wagner Population Health Lab, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• Dr. Adrian G. Zucco Copenhagen Health Complexity Center, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Material

References

Health complexity

• Copenhagen Health Complexity Center
• Pearce, N., & Merletti, F. (2006). Complexity, simplicity, and epidemiology. International Journal of Epidemiology, 35(3), 515–519. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyi322

Frameworks

• Rod, N. H., Broadbent, A., Rod, M. H., Russo, F., Arah, O. A., & Stronks, K. (2023). Complexity in epidemiology and public health: Addressing complex health problems through a mix of epidemiologic methods and data. Epidemiology, 34(4), 505–514. https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000001612
• Stronks, K., Rod, M. H., Rutter, H., & Rod, N. H. (2025). Towards a complex systems model of evidence for public health. BMJ Global Health, 10(10), e021061. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2025-021061

Example

• Uleman, J. F., Al-Shama, R. F. M., Zucco, A. G., et al. (2026). The Young Adult Sleep model: An evolving causal loop diagram of mental health dynamics. BMC Medicine, 24, Article 159. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-026-04738-7

Life course epidemiology

• Population Health Lab, University of Fribourg
• Wagner, C., Carmeli, C., Jackisch, J., Kivimäki, M., van der Linden, B. W. A., Cullati, S., & Chiolero, A. (2024). Life course epidemiology and public health. The Lancet Public Health, 9(4), e261–e269. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00018-5

Examples

• Wagner, C., Cullati, S., Sieber, S., Huijts, T., Chiolero, A., & Carmeli, C. (2023). Intergenerational educational trajectories and inequalities in longevity: A population-based study of adults born before 1965 in 14 European countries. SSM – Population Health, 22, 101367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101367
• Wagner, C., Jolidon, V., van der Linden, B. W. A., Delaruelle, K., Gauthier, J.-A., Toma, S., Bracke, P., Burton-Jeangros, C., & Cullati, S. (2026). Trajectories and inequalities in routine healthcare uptake from adolescence to retirement: A sequence analysis across 14 European countries. Social Science & Medicine, 405, 119608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119608

Systems mapping approaches

• Barbrook-Johnson, P., & Penn, A. S. (2022). Systems mapping: How to build and use causal models of systems. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01919-7