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PubMed1982

The contribution of social science to international health training.

Today the comprehensive scope of many international health programs calls for personnel--planners, educators, researchers, and practitioners--trained in a wide range of health related areas. This article explores the contributions which social science knowledge and skills can make to such training. First, it documents the growing importance of social science in international health and delineates several topical areas--ecological, political-economic, socio-cultural, and organizational--where a social science perspective can be particularly useful. Next, it discusses strategies for developing a curriculum that will integrate relevant social science material into health care training. These include the selection of appropriate training staff and the development of competency-based curricula based upon actual work situations. Finally, the article describes specific 'experiential' training techniques which can be employed in the classroom as well as in the field to achieve program objectives.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1983

Social science research on medical technology: utility and limitations.

Policies could be better devised and better implemented if greater use were made of the social sciences. However, the social sciences have quite often not produced knowledge adequate to permit resolution of pressing social problems. An example of both of these statements is found in the area of policies toward medical technology. Medical technology has become a major public policy issue in most industrialized countries, primarily science research has led to general formulations as to how medical technology is developed and diffused. In addition, specific studies of medical technology have identified factors that impede of facilitate the development and diffusion of medical technology. However, few studies have been done of public policy mechanisms. Effects of formal policies have not been evaluated, and organizations developed to implement policies toward medical technologies have not been studied. Programs cannot be improved without evaluation, nor can successful approaches be diffused more widely. The development and implementation of public policy toward medical technology would profit if social scientists were to become involved in its examination.

Diffusion of Innovation↗
PubMed1996

Why Ecosystem Management Can't Work Without Social Science: An Example from the California Northern Spotted Owl Controversy

It is increasingly obvious that social science, while not a sufficient condition for making ecosystem management effective, is a necessary condition. A social science typology of ecosystems is developed, applied, and shown to have substantial and unexpected implications for the practice of ecosystem management. Ecologists and environmental scientists, in particular, will find some conclusions uncomfortable. The application involves a case material from the California northern spotted owl controversy.KEY WORDS: Ecosystem management; Social science; Adaptive management; Top-down versus bottom-up planning; Outside-in versus inside-out planning

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Behavioral and social sciences and public health at CDC.

Although the history of CDC spans 60 years, only during the last 2 decades of the 20th century did the agency come to recognize and better understand the importance of the behavioral and social sciences to its overall mission. This recognition was a consequence of several events, notably the growing public awareness of the many conditions and diseases linked to unhealthy behavior and the creation of three new organizational units at CDC--the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in 1988, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in 1992, and the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention in 1993--that focused on conditions, diseases, and injuries with clear behavioral risks. Accordingly, the relatively small number of CDC behavioral and social scientists were initially concentrated in these three centers. In 1995, to raise awareness of behavioral and social sciences at CDC and to integrate these fields into CDC-conducted and -supported research and practice activities, the agency's behavioral and social scientists established the Behavioral and Social Sciences Working Group (BSSWG). The application of the behavioral and social science disciplines to public health attests to the success of the working group. Today, BSSWG continues as a formal organization sponsored by the Office of the Chief Science Officer within the CDC Office of the Director.

Behavioral Medicine↗
PubMed1997

[Confounding effects in social science studies and their control. The examples of personality, social support, psychiatric disease].

Social scientific investigations on coping with illness, on the relevance of life events or social support for psychic disorders are concerned with a variety of constructs with interdependent structures. Hypotheses in interrelationships are set up and tested on the construct level. A problem quite often overlooked here is that almost all constructs overlap to a considerable extent both with regard to their content as well as operationally, i.e. they are confounded. Interrelations of constructs which are strongly content-related or operationally confounded are thus in danger of demonstrating artificial results. Data from an extensive epidemiological research project on the incidence and prevalence of psychic disorders in the general population are used applying structural equation models for latent variables to demonstrate confoundation effects for the constructs personality, social support and state of health. Appropriate control methods are described. The results show that partner support maintains a strong influence on the psychic and physical state of health even confoundation of content has been excluded. Application of this method of content confoundation control is discussed with regard to research on coping life event research etc.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

The relationship between the theory of evolution and the social sciences, particularly psychology.

The application of the theory of evolution to human social behavior has, along with some illumination, produced friction that occasionally bursts into flame. In this paper we will examine the relationship between the theory of evolution and the social sciences, psychology in particular. We will identify some of the sources of friction between proponents and opponents of applying evolutionary theory to the social sciences, and we will suggest that listening carefully to both sides in the debate points the way to an enriched understanding of human social behavior.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1987

[The social sciences in the health field in Brazil: notes for its history].

In this work the author reviews, along general lines, the origins and development of the social sciences in the health field in Brazil, with emphasis on the part played by the departments of preventive and social medicine, which extended the scope of undergraduate medical school instruction in the sixties to embrace social issues, and introduced the first subjects and disciplines of the social sciences. He also describes graduate instruction and makes general remarks on social science research in the health field. Originally presented at a Seminar on "The Social Scientist in the Health Field," where participants had to relate their personal experiences, the work tries to evaluate some aspects of the author's experience.

Brazil↗
PubMed1995

Ethical issues in social science research with special reference to sexual behaviour research.

Social science research has long been concerned with ethical issues, but agencies that review and fund research are increasingly attentive to assuring that ethical considerations are being fully addressed. Research on sexual behaviour, a topic that has generated much recent attention worldwide as scientists confront the epidemics of adolescent pregnancy, AIDS and STDs, raises ethical issues that are worthy of special attention. Beginning with the philosophical origin of ethical principles that guide research, this paper discusses the key ethical issues to be considered when designing and conducting social science research. Included are special precautions for research on adolescents, the purpose and properties of an informed consent procedure, and the formation and function of an ethical review committee.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Institutional constraints to building social science capability in public health research: a case study from Indonesia.

The promotion of social sciences capabilities in public health research in universities frequently encounters unexpected barriers. This paper argues that, in Indonesia, historic factors and institutional structures of public health research have created constraints to success in public health research and international technical assistance. Donors are often frustrated by apparent inconsistencies between agreed intentions and the subsequent behaviour of recipient colleagues, thus resulting in poor relations and failure of collaborative links. For social sciences to be integrated into public health research, assistance is needed in graduate education, library development, computerisation, and research methodology. Contributions in these areas may be ineffectual if they are not preceded or accompanied by efforts by recipients to reform or circumvent existing institutional weaknesses. Some important barriers to the development of research capabilities in Indonesia are beyond the control of individual faculties of public health, or even universities, and are affected by regulations and budgeting procedures of the National Department of Education and Culture, or the civil service administration. There are, however, changes that can be made at faculty or university level to encourage a more productive 'research culture' and promote linkages between the social and health sciences.

Humans↗
PubMed1988

Teaching social sciences in the clinical years through psychosocial conferences.

A program for teaching the social sciences in the clinical years in medical school is described. This program focuses on psychosocial conferences (PSC) held during the clerkships in internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery. The aim of the PSC is the integration of the knowledge and skills imparted in the preclinical social sciences curriculum with the students' clinical experiences. PSC teaching includes tutorial guidance throughout the student's preparation of a case presentation in which psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects of the patients' coping with illness and the patient-physician interrelationship are emphasized.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed1994

Evaluating agency initiatives: building social science capability in tropical disease research.

In recent years, in an endeavour to increase social and economic research in tropical diseases, WHO/TDR has used a number of alternative models to develop social science research capability in countries endemic for the designated tropical diseases. These have included small grants schemes to encourage junior researchers to gain familiarity with the subject area and methods, and protocol development and methodology workshops, either for specific research topics (e.g. adolescent women's health; community perceptions of schistosomiasis) or for any topic of interest to the participants. Participants have included medical researchers, social science researchers, and interdisciplinary teams (e.g. a medical researcher and a collaborating social scientist). This paper develops a typology and critically analyses these alternative approaches to developing research capability, and assesses their effectiveness in terms of cost, short-term effectiveness, and sustainability of the initiative.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed2003

Overcoming barriers to teaching the behavioral and social sciences to medical students.

Most U.S. medical schools offer courses in the behavioral and social sciences (BSS), but their implementation is frequently impeded by problems. First, medical students often fail to perceive the relevance of the BSS for clinical practice. Second, the BSS are vaguely defined and the multiplicity of the topics that they include creates confusion about teaching priorities. Third, there is a lack of qualified teachers, because physicians may have received little or no instruction in the BSS, while behavioral and social scientists lack experience in clinical medicine. The authors propose an approach that may be useful in overcoming these problems and in shaping a BSS curriculum according to the institutional values of various medical schools. This approach originates from insights gathered during their attempts to teach various BSS topics at four Israeli medical schools. They suggest that medical faculties (1) adopt an integrative approach to learning the biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences using Engel's "biopsychosocial model" as a link between the BSS and clinical practice, (2) define a hierarchy of learning objectives and assign the highest priority to acquisition of clinically relevant skills, and (3) develop clinical role models through teacher training programs. This approach emphasizes the clinical relevance of the BSS, defines learning priorities, and promotes cooperation between clinical faculty and behavioral scientists.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMed2006

HIV/AIDS and the construction of Sub-Saharan Africa: heuristic lessons from the social sciences for policy.

There is no doubt that Sub-Saharan African countries face major problems due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has ravaged the region. Yet the Eurocentric construction of the region as the source of the virus not only creates negative stereotypes in social science disciplines like geography, but also glosses over the potential of social science disciplines to provide knowledge and influence policy about HIV/AIDS. This oppositional construction of the region has unfortunately contributed to a glossing over of many aspects of Sub-Saharan Africa's people, their environment, culture, history, politics, economics, gender relations, and the region's global status that would provide important input for policy aimed at curbing the devastating spread of HIV in the region. This paper argues that once we recognize that HIV is a global virus with trans-cultural implications, social science disciplines, such as geography, can reveal certain attributes about the region and its HIV/AIDS pandemic that can be used in policy formulation to combat the spread of the virus.

Africa South of the Sahara↗
PubMed2000

Emergency contraception: a review of the programmatic and social science literature.

Many biomedical aspects of emergency contraception have been investigated and documented for >30 years now. A large number of social science questions, however, remain to be answered. In this article, we review the rapidly growing but geographically lopsided literature on this topic. Using computer database searches supplemented by reference reviews and professional correspondence with those active in the field, we gathered literature on the social science and service delivery aspects of emergency contraception published in English up through December 1998, as well as a few unpublished papers from the same time and slightly later, representing regions where published material is practically nonexistent. Methodologically acceptable papers are summarized in our tables and text, and form the basis for suggested improvements in existing emergency contraceptive services. The review also offers ideas for designing new emergency contraception services where they do not yet exist. We conclude by proposing an agenda for further social science research in this area.

Adolescent↗