Catalyzing Transdisciplinarity: A Systems Ethnography of Cancer–Obesity Comorbidity and Risk Coincidence

Abstract

Effectively addressing wicked health problems, that is, those arising from complex multifactorial biological and socio-economic causes, requires transdisciplinary action. However, a significant body of research points toward substantial difficulties in cultivating transdisciplinary collaboration. Accordingly, this article presents the results of a study that adapts Systems Ethnography and Qualitative Modeling (SEQM) in response to wicked health problems. SEQM protocols were designed to catalyze transdisciplinary responses to national defense concerns. We adapted these protocols to address cancer-obesity comorbidity and risk coincidence. In so doing, we conducted participant-observations and interviews with a diverse range of health care providers, community health educators, and health advocacy professionals who target either cancer or obesity. We then convened a transdisciplinary conference designed to catalyze a coordinated response. The findings offer productive insights into effective ways of catalyzing transdisciplinarity in addressing wicked health problems action and demonstrate the promise of SEQM for continued use in health care contexts.

How Does Strategic Communication Shape Transdisciplinary Collaboration? A Focus on Definitions, Audience, Expertise, and Ethical Praxis

“…We use an ethnographic and engaged methodology that draws from mixed methods data collection (Creswell, 2014) and a participatory modeling technique known as knowledge mapping (Wilson and Herndl, 2007;Graham et al, 2017). Our ethnographic methodology defines how we conduct ongoing observations in diverse organizational settings to observe how communication shapes this transdisciplinary collaboration through time (Rai, 2016;Lindlof and Taylor, 2017).…”

“…This is particularly important in collaborative approaches to science, as definitions can become commonplaces that collaborators come back to repeatedly to create and negotiate meanings (Blythe et al, 2008;Walsh, 2017). In this context, an approach like knowledge mapping can foster collaborative discussions by posing questions to help guide these negotiations (Wilson and Herndl, 2007;Graham et al, 2017). Scholars have also drawn from stasis theory to attend to how definitions shape arguments about contentious science issues.…”

User Experience in Health & Medicine: Building Methods for Patient Experience Design in Multidisciplinary Collaborations

“…Our study also highlights how engaging patient participants and multidisciplinary collaboration build on and mutually inform one another. Collaborations with clients, users, industry partners, and extra-disciplinary researchers have been central to TC research particularly for usability and UX studies (see Cardinal et al, 2020;Melonçon, 2017;Renguette, 2016; and research in health contexts (see Graham et al, 2017;Kuehl et al, 2020;Opel et al, 2018). As we considered the past, present, and future of UX research for this special issue, we realized that core to our study and its engagement with patient participants was multidisciplinary collaboration; thus we aim to extend prior collaborative research by further elucidating the value of multidisciplinary collaborations as well as actionable considerations these collaborations require for PXD research.…”

Obesity consequences from the people's perspective living in Kurdish regions of Iran: A qualitative content analysis

“…Obesity is one of the causes of cardiovascular disease,[7101112131415] diabetes,[713] hypertension,[710] dyspnea,[7] osteoarthritis,[7] fertility and reproduction,[1012] and some cancers. [271016] There are some socio-cultural consequences such as social stereotypes,[17] discrimination and exclusion,[1718] social and psychological consequences such as lack of self-esteem, negative self-esteem, low self-esteem,[1319] depression,[719] and fatigue[19] are also due. However, obesity is not always associated with unfavorable consequences.…”