About

Mision

To understand and inform the design of care systems as complex, evolving systems.

Research examines how decisions, institutions, and uncertainty interact across care systems.

Approach

Care systems involve many actors operating under uncertainty, resource constraints, and changing rules. Interactions among these actors give rise to system-level behaviors that cannot be understood by examining components in isolation.

This work brings together researchers and collaborators from engineering, public health, social policy, data science, and related fields. Our approach combines analytical and computational methods with close engagement in real-world settings, including public services, care systems, and community-based programs.

This work contributes to both scientific understanding and practical decision-making.

What Is Systems Complexity?

System behavior emerges when many interacting actors adapt over time. In care systems, local decisions often have consequences that extend beyond their immediate context.

Examples include referral networks, waiting lists, care pathways, and population-level interventions. In such systems, small changes can propagate in nonlinear ways, producing effects that are difficult to anticipate.

Research on complex systems seeks to identify shared mechanisms—such as feedback, adaptation, and heterogeneity—that shape behavior across settings. Focusing on these mechanisms allows analysis to move beyond case-specific explanations toward more general insights relevant across institutions and policy environments.

Applications and Research Areas

Research conducted in the CSL has contributed methods, models, and empirical insights across a range of contexts, including:

Community-based referral and outreach systems
Care systems and social protection program design
Data infrastructure to support learning across institutions
Equity, access, and policy-relevant system design

Co-Directorship

Research in the CSL is co-directed by Diana Prieto and Diego Martínez, whose work reflects complementary perspectives across social development, healthcare systems, population health, medical decision-making, and systems engineering.

This joint leadership reflects a commitment to integrating multiple levels of analysis—from households and communities to institutions and national policy.

Affiliations

The CSL is based at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, and maintains active collaborations with universities, public agencies, service providers, and research centers nationally and internationally.

Contact

For research, educational, or collaboration inquiries:

diego.a.martinez@pucv.cl
diana.prieto@pucv.cl