Kelly, Michael P. (Author)
Russo, Federica (Author)
Mefisto: Rivista di medicina, filosofia, storia
Volume: 5
Issue: 1
Pages: 105-119
In the middle of the severest public health crisis of the 21 st century thus far, scholars in the humanities and health and social sciences have accelerated their reflections about public health, its evidence base, its normative dimensions, as well as its successes, failures, and pitfalls. In this paper, we aim to contribute to this global thinking about public health by focusing on one particular aspect, namely its dependence on epidemiology as the main generator of evidence for public health interventions and policy. Our argument is that while it is undeniable that epidemiology (and its sub-fields) have made very many significant contributions both to enlarge our knowledge of disease and its causation, prevalence, and incidence and to channel public health interventions, it also has its limits. The limitations of epidemiology lie in the (implicit) epistemic assumptions which involve focusing on (aggregates of) individuals and obscure the key role of the social level of analysis. These limitations, however, are also an opportunity to highlight and rethink a more distinctly social approach to health and disease, and one that is genuinely population in character. Our argument applies broadly, but the COVID-19 pandemic makes it an urgent topic to address.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Fernando Rosa;
Alessandra Parodi;
(2024)
Essere in una pandemia. Filosofia, medicina e Covid-19
(/isis/citation/CBB335674855/)
Article
Stefano Santasilia;
(2020)
Pandemia e stili di vita: pazienza
(/isis/citation/CBB845461986/)
Article
Davide Orsini;
James A. Ostenson;
Francesco Brigo;
Mariano Martini;
(2023)
Pandemics and Mental Disorders: From the Thought of the 19th Century Psychiatrist Andrea Verga to long-term effects of COVID-19
(/isis/citation/CBB934514442/)
Article
Luisa Simonutti;
(2020)
Paure, contaminazioni e alterità. Da Bacone a Kapuściński
(/isis/citation/CBB346421875/)
Article
Luisa Simonutti;
(2020)
Uneasiness. John Locke e le inquietudini del presente
(/isis/citation/CBB647837757/)
Article
Brian Dolan;
(2020)
It Wasn't Supposed to Be a Coronavirus: The Quest for an Influenza A(h5n1)-Derived Vaccine and the Limits of Pandemic Preparedness
(/isis/citation/CBB603005256/)
Article
Silvia Caianiello;
(2020)
Accelerazione. Riflessioni sulle temporalità della pandemia
(/isis/citation/CBB072366901/)
Article
Stefania Achella;
(2020)
Ragioni della scienza e ragioni politiche. Alcune considerazioni filosofiche
(/isis/citation/CBB319793049/)
Article
Giuseppe Armocida;
(2020)
Di nuovo una storia vecchia. L’emergenza Coronavirus
(/isis/citation/CBB710967498/)
Article
Paul Richards;
(2020)
Ebola and COVID-19 in Sierra Leone: comparative lessons of epidemics for society
(/isis/citation/CBB007996257/)
Book
Vittorio Alessandro Sironi;
(2021)
Le maschere della salute: Dal Rinascimento ai tempi del coronavirus
(/isis/citation/CBB761112821/)
Book
Jacques Pépin;
(2021)
The Origins of AIDS
(/isis/citation/CBB084551418/)
Article
Florence Bretelle‐Establet;
(2020)
Science, Demons, and Gods in the Battle Against the COVID-19 Epidemic
(/isis/citation/CBB540072063/)
Article
Poliana Maia;
Rosária Justi;
Monique Santos;
(2021)
Aspects About Science in the Context of Production and Communication of Knowledge of COVID-19
(/isis/citation/CBB033270554/)
Article
Erica Charters;
Richard A. McKay;
(2020)
The History of Science and Medicine in the Context of COVID-19
(/isis/citation/CBB048196927/)
Article
Nükhet Varlık;
(2020)
Rethinking the History of Plague in the Time of Covid-19
(/isis/citation/CBB776966901/)
Article
Susanne Bauer;
(2021)
Pandemic infrastructure: Epidemiology as compartmentalization
(/isis/citation/CBB933898213/)
Article
Choon Key Chekar;
Hyomin Kim;
(2022)
COVID-19 Exceptionalism: Explaining South Korean Responses
(/isis/citation/CBB527253772/)
Article
Martin Butler;
Sina Farzin;
Michael Fuchs;
(2021)
PandemIcons? The Medical Scientist as Iconic Figure in Times of Crisis
(/isis/citation/CBB262220114/)
Article
Silvia Waisse;
(2021)
The historian in the pandemic: what has been done about the history of nonconventional medicine in epidemics?
(/isis/citation/CBB277654633/)
Be the first to comment!