Diffusion of complexity science into health promotion research and practice: foundations for a complex future

Complexity science and its concepts, theories and tools have been around for decades (Holland, 1962). They have been disseminating in many disciplines since their inception. Many feel that complexity is an important tool to understand the world and its challenges. However, public health in general and health promotion in particular were among more recent disciplines to embrace it (Keshavarz Mohammadi, 2010, 2019). The reasons for this delay are beyond the scope of this paper. Complexity ideas and applications started to diffuse in public health since the early 21st century. There have been applications of its concepts, theories, frameworks and tools in hospital and healthcare management (Plesk...