WEEK 2: defining health, disciplinarity, how to conduct health research (CH 1, 2) Flashcards
(30 cards)
what is health studies?
health studies addresses health, illness and medicine through a social science interdisciplinary lens
explores social, political, cultural and economic dimensions of health
health studies use …
quantitative data and qualitative data
quantitative data
- health records
- census data
- survey questionnaires
qualitative data
- interviews
- focus groups
- observation techniques
- document analysis
- this is preferred as this data provides in-depth and person sensitive perspectives (human thoughts and feelings)
what is health?
health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing , not just the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948)
what is health influenced by?
social, political, cultural and economic factors
what is health related to?
overall well-being, quality of life and individual and community understandings of what it means to be healthy
health sub-disciplines
health geography, medicinal anthropology, health psychology, health economics
health geography
the study of how space and place affect and represent health and health care
medicinal anthropology
the study of the bio-cultural and ecological aspects of health and health care
health psychology
the study of the cognitive and behavioural aspects of health and health care
health economics
the study of different ways of allocating resources for health with different outcomes
what does it mean to be critical
requires you to reflect on information, use judgement skills, and engage in higher levels of thinking (analysis, interpretation, inference, evaluation, and explanation to formulate reliable decisions)
humility and reflexivity
part of being critical
- acknowledging one’s position within the social and cultural world of the subjects and issues studied
concerns and criticism of critical research
No longer radical, repetitive, over-theorizes, and lacks a solid political following
what is discplinarity?
refers to the idea that different academic disciplines have unique approaches, methods and tools for examining and understanding a subject or topic
disciplinary approaches to health studies
sociology, psychology, geography, ethics
describe health sociology
how social structures, institutions and relationships influence health and illness
explores topics like healthcare disparities, SDH and the impact of social norms and values on health
describe health psychology
How people’s thoughts and behaviours influence their health
can explore psychological factors contributing to health behaviours, mental health issues, and coping mechanisms
describe health geography
plays a role in studying the physical environment’s impact on health
- issues like access to healthcare facilities
- geography of disease
- environmental factors that affect well-being
describe health ethics
Morals in health studies and health care
multidisciplinarity
Advantage: Diverse perspectives, specialized knowledge, and depth of exploration.
Disadvantage: Limited integration, potential for disconnection, and lack of synthesis.
interdisciplinarity
Advantage: Overlapping knowledge, problem-solving capabilities, and enhanced insights.
Disadvantage: Theoretical and methodological challenges and the challenge of synthesis.
transdisciplinarity
Advantage: Comprehensive perspective, shared conceptual framework, and overarching framework.
Disadvantage: Requires strong communication, challenges for disciplinary experts, and complexity of collaboration.
