A Scientific Guidance to Welfare Planning with System Dynamics Modeling

Abstract

The public discussion towards abortion policy in Alabama triggered research interest from many prestige scholars to revisit the often-polarized topic. Our research focus on exploring the implication using the policy change as an external perturbation raising attention to the existing diseases conditions causing infant morbidity and mortality, e.g. HIV and STI, providing an alternative perspective through System Dynamics Modeling to illustrate the practical problems and propose possible solutions to achieve effective governance. The existence and response tackling transmittable diseases pose challenges in providing consistent quality medical care and increasing burden in the context of heath sector development. Taking into the consideration of limited public sector resources with many competing areas for spending and investment, the importance to prioritize based on need and relative challenges becomes the determinant factor to effective policy decision making process. This paper begins with a review of previous relevant experiment in system dynamics concerning public health, then it presents a functional model designed to include existing conditions of transmittable disease (HIV and STI) in a population and medical financial burden for families. Although our model encompasses a detailed process including the potential policy change in Alabama, our focus in on the connection between disease cases in infant to overall public welfare, which are responsible for the majority of health impairment in the U.S.