Interoperability to Improve Science-Based Decision Making: Adapting a Risk Analysis Framework to Improve Translational Environmental Health Science
Citation:
Johnston, JohnM, E. Perkins, P. Glynn, T. Von Stackelberg, B. Hope, AND Matt Harwell. Interoperability to Improve Science-Based Decision Making: Adapting a Risk Analysis Framework to Improve Translational Environmental Health Science. Electronics. MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, 15(3):574, (2026). https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15030574
Impact/Purpose:
Environmental risk assessment, which encompasses both humans and ecosystems, is in the midst of a necessary evolution from traditional practices to holistic approaches that embrace systems thinking and complexity. Central to this evolution is the awareness that: 1) environmental risk assessment includes hazards other than chemicals; 2) risk assessment for human health endpoints alone is insufficient and generally not protective of ecosystems; and 3) human health and welfare are dependent on services provided by ecosystems. Here we consider what is needed to facilitate decision making using an integrated systems approach including the types of information and modeling tools that are needed. We also examine the barriers that currently exist in the process of systems thinking in risk assessment.
Description:
The protection of human and ecological health has become more challenging because of the myriad of human and climate stressors, and the sustainability of our social, economic, and environmental systems would be enhanced by further defensible risk assessment. There are scientific, technological, and cultural challenges to interoperability, bridging the necessary disciplines and integrating data from the genome to globe. Interoperability makes possible the use and reuse of data and modeling approaches and is a contemporary and rapidly progressing area advancing toxicology and exposure science. We present a coherent vision of human and ecological risk assessment, including the types of information and modeling science to create knowledge and apply it for improved decision-making. We focus on science-based decision-making, emphasizing decisions where science is the primary or sole driver, as in human toxicology and ecological risk assessment. This contrasts with decision-making where science has a minor role, if at all, in weighing decision options. We also examine the barriers that exist in the creation and application of systems thinking. We identify: the (1) needs and challenges for the application of a systems approach to informing decisions; (2) case studies that illustrate informatics needs for 21st-century science-based decision-making; and (3) recommendations on how to progress towards a systems approach to informing decisions.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Interoperability to Improve Science-Based Decision Making: Adapting a Risk Analysis Framework to Improve Translational Environmental Health Science