Eco-epidemiological Enquiry under Global Ecological Change: an Integrated Assessment Toolkit for Beginners

of Alberta) for their valuable conceptual and editorial input. Abbreviations: AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome BAU business as usual EF ecological footprint EFA eclogical footprint analysis EKCs Environmental Kuznets Curves GDP gross domestic product 3 HEADLAMP Linkage Methods for Environment and Health Analysis, HEADLAMP Project HIV human immunodeficiency virus IA integrated assessment I=PAT impact equals the product of population, affluence, and technology PLCA product life-cycle analysis SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Introduction Global change and population health: complexities and urgency From the Newtonian to the complexity paradigm The broader context of population health Integrated assessment: a systems-based research approach Participatory methods Promising tools for eco-epidemiology Conclusions References Table Total paper word count: 12,135 5 ABSTRACT Eco-epidemiology is a sub-specialty of epidemiology, focusing on the relationships between human health and the dynamics of global ecological change. Under escalating global change, new conceptual and analytical tools are needed if we are to contribute to the development of prevention and adaptation strategies for reducing negative health effects of changing ecosystems. This paper provides an overview of methodological approaches and tools for advancing eco-epidemiological research. Several Integrated Assessment methods are discussed (integrated modeling, scenario analysis, and participatory methods), each combining knowledge elements from various disciplines into an analytical framework for identifying the cross-linkages and interactions among different contextual circumstances and processes underlying complex (eco-epidemiological) phenomena that we are facing today. Building on environmental (impact) studies, we additionally discuss some promising tools that can support more systematic approaches: conventional and disaggregated Ecological Footprint analysis, the DPSEEA-framework, Product Life-Cycle Analysis, the I = PAT identity, and Environmental Kuznets Curves. We argue that the methods and tools discussed can help to advance our understanding of the complex pathways among socioeconomic and environmental determinants of health, improving the exploration and modeling of human health under global ecological change. They help us to focus research attention on key features of complex systems to improve our understanding of systemic (" upstream ") drivers, and to facilitate a more complete characterization of proximate (" downstream ") exposures and their effects. Their application in problem-oriented transdisciplinary research encourages the adaptation and adoption of formerly discipline-specific methods into other disciplines; new, conceptual frameworks then emerge. Their continued employment and evaluation are encouraged.