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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Lisa A. Eckenwiler, PhD, Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3040, 108 Seeley G. Mudd Building, Durham, CA 27710, 919-668-9000, lisa.eckenwiler@duke.edu
Social epidemiology research has important links to moral philosophy that should be further explored in light of the implications for public health as a field in search of a guiding moral framework, and for public health and social policy that is grounded not only in good science but also in ethics. Research in social epidemiology examines how features of social and institutional context (e.g. a neighborhood's economy, demographics, social cohesion, political organization, and employment patterns), rather than individual characteristics or health behaviors, influence persons' risk for disease and poor health. This research has ties to contemporary work in ethics that calls for attention to particularity in moral perception, reasoning and judgment concerning the needs and interests of society's most vulnerable members. These persons tend to be held individually responsible for their poor health status, asymmetrically situated in relation to health and social policy makers, and disenfranchised from decision making processes, and thus unlikely to have their needs adequately understood. Moral particularists argue that social justice demands recognition of the particularities of vulnerable persons' lives, or more specifically, how economic structures, cultural norms, and the organization of decision making processes in society undermine their prospects for self-determination and equality. Together, public health advocates and ethicists can use research in social epidemiology to set priorities for social, economic, and health policy to better promote health among society's most vulnerable members, as well as these ethical ideals. What is more, social epidemiology research can lend strength to the notion that social justice is a proper moral basis for public health.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Ethics
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.