Nosokinetics

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Nosokinetics is the science/subject of measuring and modelling the process of care in health and social care systems. [1] Nosokinetics brings together the Greek words for noso: disease and kinetics: movement.

Health care Prevention of disease and promotion of wellbeing

Health care or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals in allied health fields. Physicians and physician associates are a part of these health professionals. Dentistry, midwifery, nursing, medicine, optometry, audiology, pharmacy, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and other health professions are all part of health care. It includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health.

Greek language language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Contents

Black box models are currently used to plan changes in health and social care systems. These input-output models overlook the process of inpatient care, as a result suboptimal decisions are made. Nosokinetics, (analogous to Pharmacokinetics), seeks to develop dynamic methods which measure and model the process of inpatient care. The aim is to develop a scientific base to underpin the planning of sustainable health and social care systems.

In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a device, system or object which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs, without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). Almost anything might be referred to as a black box: a transistor, an algorithm, or the human brain.

Pharmacokinetics, sometimes abbreviated as PK, is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to determine the fate of substances administered to a living organism. The substances of interest include any chemical xenobiotic such as: pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, food additives, cosmetics, etc. It attempts to analyze chemical metabolism and to discover the fate of a chemical from the moment that it is administered up to the point at which it is completely eliminated from the body. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how an organism affects a drug, whereas pharmacodynamics (PD) is the study of how the drug affects the organism. Both together influence dosing, benefit, and adverse effects, as seen in PK/PD models.

Establishment

Nosokinetics is a new science that was established in the UK in the early 1990s by Prof Peter H Millard after publishing his PhD thesis. In 2004 Nosokinetics group newsletter was established. [2]

Origin

Prof Peter H Millard writes about Nosokinetics : "If the random forces of wind and tide can make such a beautiful statue (referring to an iceberg), how much better could mankind do if a new science was developed which explains the complex processes of health and social care. Until new methods of planning health and social care services to meet the needs of an ageing population are introduced, service delivery will stumble on from crisis to crisis. The world population is ageing and sustainable systems of health care need to be developed." [1]

Iceberg A large piece of freshwater ice broken off a glacier or ice shelf and floating in open water

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Another name for iceberg is "ice mountain". Small bits of disintegrating icebergs are called "growlers" or "bergy bits".

Human Species of hominid

Humans are the only extant members of the subtribe Hominina. Together with chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, they are part of the family Hominidae. A terrestrial animal, humans are characterized by their erect posture and bipedal locomotion; high manual dexterity and heavy tool use compared to other animals; open-ended and complex language use compared to other animal communications; larger, more complex brains than other animals; and highly advanced and organized societies.

Science systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.

He has established the nosokinetics group of interested researchers. The group collaborates to organize conferences and disseminates news of nosokinetics and other researchers' research and practical use of modelling to enhance decision making in health and social care systems. [1]

Academic conference conference for researchers to present and discuss their work

An academic conference or scientific conference is a event for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.

News Communication of selected information on current events

News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events.

Network

The Nosokinetics Group has succeeded in attracting a lot of researchers. Nosokinetics interested people are present in many countries including Australia, UK & Egypt. They are from different disciplines ranging from health care providers to management scientists. The news related to nosokinetics is shared to the network through the bimonthly newsletter Nosokinetics News [3] which helps to communicate papers, conferences and events of interest to the Nosokinetics network.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Egypt Country spanning North Africa and Southwest Asia

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, and across the Mediterranean lie Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, although none share a land border with Egypt.

See also

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Herbert A. Simon American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist

Herbert Alexander Simon was an American economist, political scientist and cognitive psychologist, whose primary research interest was decision-making within organizations and is best known for the theories of "bounded rationality" and "satisficing". He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978 and the Turing Award in 1975. His research was noted for its interdisciplinary nature and spanned across the fields of cognitive science, computer science, public administration, management, and political science. He was at Carnegie Mellon University for most of his career, from 1949 to 2001.

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Decision-making cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities

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The Earth Institute was established at Columbia University in 1995. The research institute's stated mission is to address complex issues facing the planet and its inhabitants, with a focus on sustainable development. With an interdisciplinary approach this includes research in climate change, geology, global health, economics, management, agriculture, ecosystems, urbanization, energy, hazards, and water. The Earth Institute's activities are guided by the idea that science and technological tools that already exist could be applied to greatly improve conditions for the world's poor, while preserving the natural systems that support life on Earth.

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to social science:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Nosokinetics website
  2. ↑ Peter Millard Resume & Photo Archived August 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine .
  3. ↑ Nosokinetics newsletter archive
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