One hallmark of a profession is the existence of a body of theory and scientific evidence to support the activities of workers in that profession. Another is the existence of an agreed upon code of ethics and set of values to guide practice. One could hardly argue with these criteria for defining a profession, but it is important to examine their impact on professional practice since each may be more culture bound than we are inclined to acknowledge. There is ample evidence of the racial, ethnic, and gender bias in social and behavioral science research where samples and subjects have been underrepresented or unrepresentative of various groups, or have not captured the variation among people, or in medical and drug research where findings have been based exclusively on male subjects.
Lessons from the West Africa Ebola Epidemic: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological and Social and Behavioral Science Research Priorities
