Social epidemiology

Social epidemiology is defined as "the branch of epidemiology that studies the social distribution and social determinants of health",^[1] that is, "both specific features of, and pathways by which, societal conditions affect health".^[2]

Social epidemiology may focus on individual-level measures, or on emergent social properties that have no correlation at the individual level; simultaneous analysis at both levels may be warranted.^[3] Use of such multilevel models (also known as hierarchical and mixed effects models) has grown in recent years, but as for all observational epidemiology, this approach suffers from theoretical and practical concerns.^[4]

Social epidemiology overlaps with fields in the social sciences, most notably medical anthropology, medical sociology, and medical geography. However, these latter fields often use health and disease in order to explain specifically social phenomenon (such as the growth of lay health advocacy movements),^[5] while social epidemiologists generally use social concepts in order to explain patterns of health in the population.

References

1. ↑ Berkman LA, Kawachi I. "A Historical Framework for Social Epidemiology." In: Berkman L, Kawachi I, eds. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000:3-12.
2. ↑ Krieger N. A glossary for social epidemiology. J Epidemiol Community Health. Oct 2001;55(10):693-700. Reprinted in Epidemiological Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 1, March 2002
3. ↑ Diez-Roux A. Bringing context back into epidemiology: variables and fallacies in multilevel analysis. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:216-222.
4. ↑ Oakes JM. The (mis)estimation of neighborhood effects: causal inference for a practicable social epidemiology. Soc Sci Med. May 2004;58(10):1929-1952.
5. ↑ Brown P. Naming and framing: the social construction of diagnosis and illness. J Health Soc Behav. 1995;Spec No:34-52.