scholarly journals Reply to Norström (2014): The social epidemiology of alcohol and suicide-the struggle to formulate, debate and test social theory in the context of epidemiology and public health journals

Addiction ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Alex Pridemore
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Epidemiology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Epidemiology And Public Health

scholarly journals Systemic Materialist Realist Ontology, Epistemology, Semantics, Axiology and Ethics: Why Pearl’s counterfactuals and Pawson’s methods are insufficient for causation in Social Epidemiology and Public Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carles Muntaner ◽  
James R Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Epidemiology ◽  
Potential Outcomes ◽  
Social Inequalities In Health ◽  
Scientific Realist ◽  
Inference Methods ◽  
Realist Ontology ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Epidemiology And Public Health

We evaluate counterfactual empiricism, the dominant philosophy of science in contemporary epidemiology and public health from a scientific realist perspective. Building on our earlier work, we critique the dominant counterfactual/potential outcomes epistemology in epidemiology and public health, based on its neglect of ontology and exclusion of causal mechanisms which are confused with statistical inference methods (e.g., mediation). We argue that a realist systemic materialist ontology of levels , scientific realist epistemology, and realist semantics, axiology and ethics could constitute a best philosophical system for the disciplines of social epidemiology and public health, and their social inequalities in health subdivisions

scholarly journals Epidemiologists’ ambivalence towards the epigenetics of social adversity

BioSocieties ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Romijn ◽  
Séverine Louvel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Epidemiology ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Molecular Alterations ◽  
Functional Value ◽  
Social Adversity ◽  
The Social

AbstractThis article studies how social epidemiologists get involved in research carried out on rodent models to explore the biological pathways underpinning exposure to social adversity in early life. We analyze their interdisciplinary exchanges with biologists in a social epigenetics project—i.e., in the experimental study of molecular alterations following social exposures. We argue that social epidemiologists are ambivalent regarding the use of non-human animal models on two levels: first, in terms of whether such models provide scientific evidence useful to social epidemiology, and second, regarding whether such models help promote their conception of public health. While they maintain expectations towards rodent experiments by elevating their functional value over their representational potential, they fear that their research will contribute to a public health approach that focuses on individual responsibility rather than the social causes of health inequalities. This interdisciplinary project demonstrates the difficulties encountered when research in social epigenetics engages with the complexities of laboratory experiments and social environments, as well as the conflicting sociopolitical projects stemming from such research.

scholarly journals The COVID pandemic and social theory: Social democracy and public health in the crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 136843102097012
Author(s):  
Sylvia Walby
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
State Action ◽  
The Social ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Theories Of Change ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Social theory is developing in response to the coronavirus (COVID) crisis. Fundamental questions about social justice in the relationship of individuals to society are raised by Delanty in his review of political philosophy, including Agamben, Foucault and Žižek. However, the focus on the libertarian critique of authoritarianism is not enough. The social democratic critique of neoliberalism lies at the centre of the contesting responses to the COVID crisis. A social democratic perspective on public health, democracy and state action is contrasted with the anti-statists of left and right. This is addressed in debates on the relationship between science and governance, the place of crisis in theories of change and the conceptualisation of alternative forms of social formation. The crisis initiated by the pandemic, cascading through society, from health to economy, to polity and into violence, includes a contestation between social democratic and neoliberal visions of alternative forms of society.

Cases of social innovations implemented in the public health sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1600-1621
Author(s):  
E.V. Molchanova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Demographic Challenges ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Disease Study ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Year

Subject. The article discusses medical and demographic processes in Russia and Finland. Objectives. I evaluate cases of social innovations implemented for the preservation and strengthening of public health in Finland under the auspices of The Global Burden of Disease Study. Methods. Methodologically, the study relies upon the ideology of the GDB Project, which rests on the DALY (the Disability Adjusted Life Year). Results. I analyzed the morbidity and mortality rates, DALY in Russia and Finland, determined what mainly triggers the risk (environmental, behavioral, metabolic) fueling some public health degradation. The article provides the insight into the efficiency of some social innovations implemented in Finland and suggests what should be done to outline medical and demographic programs in Russia. Conclusions and Relevance. The medical and demographic situation in Russia requires new tools to find innovative solutions for the social policy and, inter alia, the use of the GBD technique, which proved to be effective. Referring to evidence from Finland, demographic challenges in Russian can be handled through a systems approach, i.e. socio-economic actions, improvement of the healthcare and social security, wellness propaganda.

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