Using systems science to understand the determinants of inequities in healthy eating

Introduction: Systems thinking has emerged in recent years as a promising approach to understanding and acting on the prevention and amelioration of non-communicable disease. However, the evidence on inequities in non-communicable diseases and their risks factors, particularly diet, has not been examined from a systems perspective. We report on an approach to developing a system oriented policy actor perspective on the multiple causes of inequities in healthy eating. Methods: Collaborative conceptual modelling workshops were held in 2015 with an expert group of representatives from government, non-government health organisations and academia in Australia. The expert group built a systems model using a system dynamics theoretical perspective. The model developed from individual mind maps to pair blended maps, before being finalised as a causal loop diagram. Results: The work of the expert stakeholders generated a comprehensive causal loop diagram of the determinants of inequity in healthy eating (the HE2Diagram). This complex dynamic system has seven sub-systems: (1) food supply and environment; (2) transport; (3) housing and the built environment; (4) employment; (5) social protection; (6) health literacy; and (7) food preferences. Discussion: The HE2causal loop diagram illustrates the complexity of determinants of inequities in healthy eating. This approach, both the process of construction and the final visualisation, can provide the basis for planning the prevention and amelioration of inequities in healthy eating that engages with multiple levels of causes and existing policies and programs

Remote work video meetings: Workers’ emotional exhaustion and practices for greater well-being

Meeting science literature provides a foundation for understanding workplace meetings as a source of stress. However, a new form of worker stress, “Zoom fatigue,” quickly emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic when organizations rapidly adopted video meetings for remote work-from-home. We sought to understand workers’ perceptions about video meeting experiences and how they relate to their sense of emotional exhaustion. Additionally, we were curious about what workers might see as ways to make video meetings less tiring and more beneficial. These insights could inform practical solutions for leaders and organizations to reduce the stress and resulting emotional fatigue related to video meetings. This mixed-methods study, based on survey data collected in August 2020 from 345 workers at a cross-section of U.S.-headquartered organizations, provides evidence of worker experiences related to video meeting stress. The quantitative and qualitative results show that workers feel psychologically depleted by video meeting load, an excess of load needed to do their job, video meetings that are not beneficial to them, video meetings that conflict with the time and energy needed to perform their other job responsibilities and fulfill their home responsibilities, and the perceived necessity to surface act. The data show these factors relate to diminished well-being in the form of emotional exhaustion. Participants’ qualitative responses corroborate the results and suggest supportive practices related to planning and inclusion and supportive interaction that can ease video meeting exhaustio