TY - JOUR
T1 - Invited commentary
T2 - On the future of social epidemiology--a case for scientific realism.
AU - Muntaner, Carles
PY - 2013/9/15
Y1 - 2013/9/15
N2 - In their article in this issue of the Journal (Am J Epidemiol. 2013;178(6):843-849), Galea and Link identify important heuristics for our discipline. In this commentary, I build upon their ideas by arguing that (1) social epidemiology has become an Asian, European, Latin American, and African rather than just North American endeavor, (2) realism is better suited to social epidemiology than positivism, (3) more work on social mechanisms (social class relations, racial discrimination) is needed to increase the explanatory power of social epidemiology, (4) increased attention on (social) causal models will generate more innovative social interventions, and (5) social interventions should be conducted in full partnerships with affected populations.
AB - In their article in this issue of the Journal (Am J Epidemiol. 2013;178(6):843-849), Galea and Link identify important heuristics for our discipline. In this commentary, I build upon their ideas by arguing that (1) social epidemiology has become an Asian, European, Latin American, and African rather than just North American endeavor, (2) realism is better suited to social epidemiology than positivism, (3) more work on social mechanisms (social class relations, racial discrimination) is needed to increase the explanatory power of social epidemiology, (4) increased attention on (social) causal models will generate more innovative social interventions, and (5) social interventions should be conducted in full partnerships with affected populations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887337133&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwt143
DO - 10.1093/aje/kwt143
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 24008904
AN - SCOPUS:84887337133
VL - 178
SP - 852
EP - 857
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
SN - 0002-9262
IS - 6
ER -