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Applying ontological realism to medically unexplained syndromes.
Kristina Doing-Harris1, Stephane M Meystre, Matthew Samore
1Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|August 8, 2013
Summary
Structuring knowledge for medically unexplained syndromes (MUS) is possible using Ontological Realism principles. Existing ontologies can aid in analyzing MUS research controversies, though some questions remain open.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Medically unexplained syndromes (MUS) have gained significant research interest.
- The application of Ontological Realism to MUS knowledge structuring faces criticism regarding its utility in nascent scientific fields.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of structuring domain knowledge for MUS using Ontological Realism principles.
- To assess if diverse researcher perspectives on MUS can be represented neutrally.
- To evaluate the potential for extending existing Ontological Realism-based ontologies for MUS.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Ontological Realism principles in the context of MUS.
- Examination of existing ontologies, specifically the Ontology of General Medical Science and Information Artifact Ontology.
- Assessment of the representation of varied MUS research viewpoints.
Main Results:
- No refutation was found for the applicability of Ontological Realism principles to MUS.
- The Ontology of General Medical Science and Information Artifact Ontology offer valuable frameworks for dissecting certain MUS debates.
- The study identified limitations, leaving some MUS-related questions unresolved.
Conclusions:
- Ontological Realism provides a viable framework for organizing knowledge in medically unexplained syndromes.
- Existing ontologies can be leveraged to analyze and understand controversies within MUS research.
- Further development is needed to address all aspects of MUS domain knowledge structuring.
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