Epidemiology and the people's health: theory and context

Includes reference and index

Epidemiology is often referred to as the science of public health. However, unlike other major sciences, its theoretical foundations are rarely articulated. While the idea of epidemiologic theory may seem dry and arcane, it is at its core about explaining the people's health. It is about life and death. It is about biology and society. It is about ecology and the economy. It is about how myriad aspects of people's lives—involving work, dignity, desire, love, play, conflict, discrimination, and injustice—become literally incorporated into our bodies and manifest in our health status, individually and collectively. And it is about essential knowledge critical for improving the people's health and minimizing inequitable burdens of disease, disability, and death. Tracing the history and contours of epidemiologic from ancient societies on through the development of—and debates within—contemporary epidemiology worldwide, this book shows how epidemiologic theory has long shaped epidemiologic practice, knowledge, and the politics of public health. Outlining an ecosocial theory of disease distribution that situates both population health and epidemiologic theory in societal and ecologic context, it offers a more holistic picture of how we embody the human experience.

https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383874.001.0001/acprof-9780195383874