Defining and Intervening on Cumulative Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks: Introducing a Complex Systems Approach

Area of Science:

• Environmental health
• Public health policy
• Children's neurodevelopment

Background:

• Combined exposures to environmental toxicants and social stressors contribute to public health problems and health inequities.
• Current U.S. policy approaches inadequately address cumulative environmental health risks, particularly for children's neurodevelopment.
• Children's neurodevelopment is complex, involving interdependent factors and intergenerational effects, highlighting limitations in current risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate how a complex systems approach, specifically system dynamics, can address shortcomings in environmental health risk assessment.
• To reshape public policies related to cumulative environmental health risks from multiple chemical and nonchemical stressors.
• To improve decision-making for regulatory and policy development concerning children's environmental health inequities.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing system dynamics modeling to analyze cumulative environmental health risks.
• Applying systems modeling to enhance mental models for policy and regulatory decisions.
• Employing visual depiction (informal maps) and formal quantitative simulation models within a system dynamics framework.

Main Results:

• System dynamics modeling offers a framework to operationalize multidisciplinary evidence on cumulative risks.
• Policy insights can be derived from understanding the structure and behavior of complex environmental health systems.
• The approach facilitates the development of more accurate diagnostic tools for children's environmental health inequities.

Conclusions:

• A complex systems approach, particularly system dynamics, is crucial for addressing cumulative environmental health risks.
• This methodology can lead to improved policy and regulatory strategies to mitigate exposures and prevent harm.
• System dynamics provides tools to integrate broader social and economic factors into children's environmental health assessments, promoting equity.