Nosokinetics is the science/subject of measuring and modelling the process of care in

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

and

social care Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wor ...

systems.'' Nosokinetics'' brings together the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words for ''noso'': disease and ''kinetics'': movement.

Black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

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 Pharmacokinetics (from Ancient Greek ''pharmakon'' "drug" and ''kinetikos'' "moving, putting in motion"; see chemical kinetics), sometimes abbreviated as PK, is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to determining the fate of substances administered ...

), 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.

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.

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 An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

), how much better could

mankind Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

do if a new

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

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 Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. ...

population are introduced, service delivery will stumble on from

crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

to crisis. The world population is ageing and sustainable systems of health care need to be developed." He has established the nosokinetics group of interested

researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

s. The group collaborates to organize

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...

and disseminates

news 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 event ...

of nosokinetics and other researchers' research and practical use of modelling to enhance decision making in health and social care systems.

Network

The Nosokinetics Group has succeeded in attracting a lot of researchers. Nosokinetics interested people are present in many countries including

Australia 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. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, UK &

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. 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''Nosokinetics newsletter archive
/ref> which helps to communicate papers, conferences and events of interest to the Nosokinetics network.

References

{{reflist Medical terminology Policy Health care Health economics

Establishment

Origin

Network

See also

References