Ted Schrecker
Can health equity survive epidemiology? Standards of proof and social determinants of health
Schrecker, Ted
Authors
Abstract
Objective: This article examines how epidemiological evidence is and should be used in the context of increasing concern for health equity and for social determinants of health. Method: A research literature on use of scientific evidence of “environmental risks” is outlined, and key issues compared with those that arise with respect to social determinants of health. Results: The issue sets are very similar. Both involve the choice of a standard of proof, and the corollary need to make value judgments about how to address uncertainty in the context of “the inevitability of being wrong,” at least some of the time, and to consider evidence from multiple kinds of research design. The nature of such value judgments and the need for methodological pluralism are incompletely understood. Conclusion: Responsible policy analysis and interpretation of scientific evidence require explicit consideration of the ethical issues involved in choosing a standard of proof. Because of the stakes involved, such choices often become contested political terrain. Comparative research on how those choices are made will be valuable.
Citation
Schrecker, T. (2013). Can health equity survive epidemiology? Standards of proof and social determinants of health. Preventive Medicine, 57(6), 741-744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.08.013
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Dec 1, 2013 |
Deposit Date | Sep 19, 2013 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 29, 2024 |
Journal | Preventive Medicine |
Print ISSN | 0091-7435 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 57 |
Issue | 6 |
Pages | 741-744 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.08.013 |
Keywords | Anthropology, Environmental health, Epidemiology, Ethical analysis, Policy, Politics, Social conditions, Social justice, Social policy. |
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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits
non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original author and source are credited. © 2013 The Author
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