Behavioural healthcare modelling : incorporating behaviour into healthcare simulation models ; a breast cancer screening example
Behavioural healthcare modelling : incorporating behaviour into healthcare simulation models ; a breast cancer screening example
Simulation has been used for many years to evaluate the outcomes from medical interventions, and much research has focussed upon breast cancer screening policies. However in practice a screening policy can only be successful if people attend for the invited screen. This thesis discusses some of the issues involved in incorporating human factors in a simulation model of screening for breast cancer in a UK setting. Four different methods for approximating attendance at mammography screening were compared including one method derived from a psychological theory that was designed to predict human behaviour.
The research also uses the simulation model to compare the differences brought about by making different assumptions regarding the patterns and rates of breast tumour growth on the simulation outcomes.
Results indicate that different approaches to approximating attendance behaviour and cancer growth do produce significantly different simulation outcomes. However, the relative change in outcomes across different screening strategies remained roughly constant across the various approaches. Whilst this relative change was consistent, the changes in approach did lead to changes in the significance of differences between outcomes under different screening strategies. In light of these results caution is advised when interpreting simulation outcomes and emphasises the importance of comparing relative as opposed to actual simulation outcomes.
The benefit of incorporating a psychological model into the simulation came from enhanced simulation functionality and the ability to provide further insight into the effects of attitude changes on screening policies.
University of Southampton
Sykes, Jennifer
9995d9fa-05f7-4038-98b0-30fcd0f1acfe
2007
Sykes, Jennifer
9995d9fa-05f7-4038-98b0-30fcd0f1acfe
Sykes, Jennifer
(2007)
Behavioural healthcare modelling : incorporating behaviour into healthcare simulation models ; a breast cancer screening example.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Simulation has been used for many years to evaluate the outcomes from medical interventions, and much research has focussed upon breast cancer screening policies. However in practice a screening policy can only be successful if people attend for the invited screen. This thesis discusses some of the issues involved in incorporating human factors in a simulation model of screening for breast cancer in a UK setting. Four different methods for approximating attendance at mammography screening were compared including one method derived from a psychological theory that was designed to predict human behaviour.
The research also uses the simulation model to compare the differences brought about by making different assumptions regarding the patterns and rates of breast tumour growth on the simulation outcomes.
Results indicate that different approaches to approximating attendance behaviour and cancer growth do produce significantly different simulation outcomes. However, the relative change in outcomes across different screening strategies remained roughly constant across the various approaches. Whilst this relative change was consistent, the changes in approach did lead to changes in the significance of differences between outcomes under different screening strategies. In light of these results caution is advised when interpreting simulation outcomes and emphasises the importance of comparing relative as opposed to actual simulation outcomes.
The benefit of incorporating a psychological model into the simulation came from enhanced simulation functionality and the ability to provide further insight into the effects of attitude changes on screening policies.
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Published date: 2007
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Local EPrints ID: 466179
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/466179
PURE UUID: 9cdb4444-22d1-410e-8554-d0a0b49ad370
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 04:39
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:33
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Author:
Jennifer Sykes
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