Agent-Based Modeling and Statistical Approaches for Obesity and Public Health

• Activity Number: 62
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 4, 2013 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Health Policy Statistics Section
• Author(s): Ross Hammond*+
• Companies: The Brookings Institution
• Keywords: systems science ; agent-based modeling ; statistics ; obesity ; infectious disease

Abstract

In this talk, we will illustrate both important differences between statistical approaches and systems science computational modeling and the potential for complementary and synergistic use of both within the research process. Synergistic uses will be shown both via integrated application to a single question, and via complementary questions which each technique can address independently within the same topic domain. Examples will be drawn from work using agent-based computational modeling in the study of obesity as part of the NCCOR Envision project, as well as elsewhere in public health (including the speaker's work in epidemiology of communicable disease).