Trajectory analysis in health care

Description

This innovative volume introduces Trajectory Analysis, a new systems-based approach to measuring nonlinear dynamics in continuous change, to public health and epidemiology. It synthesizes influential strands of statistical and probability science (including chaos theory and catastrophe theory) to complement existing methods and models used in the health fields. The computational framework featured here pinpoints complex cause-and-effect processes in behavioral change as individuals and populations adjust to health interventions, with examples from neuroscience and cardiology. But this is no mere academic exercise, as the author illustrates how these methods can be harnessed toward finding real-world answers to longstanding public health problems, starting with treatment recidivism.  Included in the coverage: ·         The universality of physical principles in the analysis of health and disease ·         The problem of recidivism in healthcare intervention studies ·         Stability and reversibility/irreversibility of health conditions ·         Chaos theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions ·         Applications in health monitoring and geographic systems ·         Simulations, applications, and the challenge for public health  A stimulating new take on statistics with powerful implications for future study, practice, and policy, Trajectory Analysis in Health Care should interest public health epidemiologists, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. . Read more... Abstract: This innovative volume introduces Trajectory Analysis, a new systems-based approach to measuring nonlinear dynamics in continuous change, to public health and epidemiology. It synthesizes influential strands of statistical and probability science (including chaos theory and catastrophe theory) to complement existing methods and models used in the health fields. The computational framework featured here pinpoints complex cause-and-effect processes in behavioral change as individuals and populations adjust to health interventions, with examples from neuroscience and cardiology. But this is no mere academic exercise, as the author illustrates how these methods can be harnessed toward finding real-world answers to longstanding public health problems, starting with treatment recidivism.  Included in the coverage: ·         The universality of physical principles in the analysis of health and disease ·         The problem of recidivism in healthcare intervention studies ·         Stability and reversibility/irreversibility of health conditions ·         Chaos theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions ·         Applications in health monitoring and geographic systems ·         Simulations, applications, and the challenge for public health  A stimulating new take on statistics with powerful implications for future study, practice, and policy, Trajectory Analysis in Health Care should interest public health epidemiologists, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers.  Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction: The Universality of Physical Principles in the Analysis of Health and Disease (David W. Hollar)....Pages 1-6 Longitudinal and Nonlinear Dynamics “Trajectory” Analysis in Health Care: Opportunities and Necessity (David W. Hollar)....Pages 7-19 The Problem of Recidivism in Healthcare Intervention Studies (David W. Hollar)....Pages 21-35 Epidemiological Methods (David W. Hollar)....Pages 37-47 The Method of Path Coefficients (David W. Hollar)....Pages 49-72 Stability and Reversibility/Irreversibility of Health Conditions (David W. Hollar)....Pages 73-85 Energy Levels and Potentials (David W. Hollar)....Pages 87-100 On Negative Probabilities and Path Integrals (David W. Hollar)....Pages 101-116 Chaos Theory and Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions (David W. Hollar)....Pages 117-130 Poincare Return Maps (David W. Hollar)....Pages 131-145 Health Conditions and Behaviors as Surfaces (David W. Hollar)....Pages 147-161 Jacobian Matrices and Lyapunov Exponents (David W. Hollar)....Pages 163-178 Jump Conditions (David W. Hollar)....Pages 179-195 Applications to Cardiology and Neuroscience (David W. Hollar)....Pages 197-209 Understanding the Evolutionary Historical Background Behind the Trajectories in Human Health and Disease (David W. Hollar)....Pages 211-230 Simulations, Applications, and the Challenge for Public Health (David W. Hollar)....Pages 231-246 Review of Basic Principles (David W. Hollar)....Pages 247-257 Back Matter ....Pages 259-263