System dynamics modelling for health systems strengthening

The George Institute for Global Health India organised a webinar on “System dynamics modelling for health systems strengthening: Applications before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand”. System dynamics (SD) modelling employs systems thinking to understand complex systems’ behaviors over time. SD is among the most popular modelling methods in health policy and healthcare research. However, unlike agent-based models that aim to capture micro-level system behaviors such as human decision-making and heterogeneous interactions between individuals, SD models address macro-level system behaviors such as changes or movement of resources in complex systems over time.

Dr. Borwornsom Leerapan, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University served as a key speaker for the webinar, he is a preventive medicine physician and health systems researcher. Some of his current research areas include the application systems dynamics modelling to support COVID -19 related policy decisions, healthcare governance structures of Thailand’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and national health workforce planning. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Centre for Health Policy and Management at the Medical School and serves on organisational and national committees including the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage. Additionally, Dr. Sohana Shafique, icddr,b Bangladesh participated as a discussant at the event and provided her reflection on COVID – 19, health workforce and systems thinking more broadly in the context of UHC in Bangladesh.

Dr. Shafique is a Global Health researcher with a specific interest in Urban Health and Nutrition as well as Health Policy and Systems Research. For the past 15 years, her research has been focused on inequalities in health, child growth and development, and the double burden of diseases in South and South-East Asia. She currently leads the ‘Urban Health Research Group’ at the Health Systems and Population Studies Division at icddr,b, Bangladesh.

The Webinar was moderated by Dr. Devaki Nambiar, Program Head, Health Systems and Equity, The George Institute for Global Health India and Mr. Siddharth Srivastava, Research Assistant, The George Institute for Global Health, India.