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Directed trees are special graphs usually employed as illustrative device of numerical methods applied in evolutionary biology. The present note explores its possible application in social sciences. Its utility as classificatory method in a classical anthropological study of cultural exchanges is exemplified.
Public health policies are important guiding principles that serve to shape the well-being of individuals, groups, and society. Behavioral and social scientists can play key influential roles in public health policymaking. The actors and processes involved in setting public health policy are described, and several substantive examples of public health decision making are discussed, emphasizing HIV prevention policy experiences at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The significant influence of behavioral and social science in each of these examples is identified and critiqued. Challenges to further integration of behavioral science and public health policy are identified, and potential solutions are proposed.
This article presents a synthesis of the main topics covered by social science research (SSR) on HIV/AIDS, since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) in 1996. SSR has shown that non-adherence cannot be reliably < > on the sole basis of a few a priori patient characteristics that clinicians could easily identify before initiation of HAART, and that a dynamic approach to adherence, continuously monitoring the impact of patients' subjective experience with HAART is needed. In relationship with the evolution of HIV infection toward a < >, SSR has dealt with the impact of HAART on all aspects of patients' daily lives (from employment and professional status to sexuality). It has also emphasised the potential contradictions between the hopes generated by these cost-effective therapeutic advances, on the one hand, and the high social vulnerability of a growing proportion of people living with HIV-AIDS, on the other hand. Finally, SSR suggests recommendations for < > AIDS public policies without losing the potential for innovations that the fight against this epidemic has introduced in health care and < > systems, as well as physician-patient's relationships.
Efforts to control disease and improve health in developing countries require increasing collaboration between social and medical scientists. This collaboration should extend from the early stages of technology development to the evaluation and improvement of population-wide interventions. This paper provides an integrating framework for social science research on health producing processes at the household level, drawing on recent work in economics, anthropology, and public health. Further development of theory and methods in this area would benefit from interdisciplinary research in categories as defined by social and behavioral science in addition to those related to specific diseases and intervention programs.
Computer techniques for numerical analysis are well known to pharmacokineticists. Powerful techniques for data file management have been developed by social scientists but have, in general, been ignored by pharmacokineticists because of their apparent lack of ability to interface with pharmacokinetic programs. Extensive use has been made of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for its data handling capabilities, but at the same time, techniques have been developed within SPSS to interface with pharmacokinetic programs of the users' choice and to carry out a variety of user-defined pharmacokinetic tasks within SPSS commands, apart from the expected variety of statistical tasks. Because it is based on a ubiquitous package, this methodology has all of the benefits of excellent documentation, interchangeability between different types and sizes of machines and true portability of techniques and data files. An example is given of the total management of a pharmacokinetic study previously reported in the literature by the authors.
Recent literature about sadomasochism in Sociology and Social Psychology is reviewed. Studies include survey research and questionnaire studies, content analyses, ethnographic research, and critical essays. The current state of our knowledge of sadomasochism, including its defining characteristics, sadomasochistic identities, and sadomasochistic subcultures is briefly summarized.
Kuhn's seminal work on scientific revolutions has undermined any strong claim to the idea that there is one single true theory about the way nature is. Both social science and medicine share, in differing ways, the uncertainty produced by the complexity of the human condition. This is not well accommodated by the traditional medicine model. There are both individual diseases and individual responses to disease that require a more holistic response to the patient. The holistic responses to these problems show promise but require careful evaluation through critical reflection on our practice of medicine.
Whether and how civil society should recognize committed relationships between same-sex partners has become a prominent, often divisive, policy issue. The present article reviews relevant behavioral and social science research to assess the validity of key factual claims in this debate. The data indicate that same-sex and heterosexual relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to her or his ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. It is concluded that same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships. Trends in public opinion toward greater support for legal recognition of same-sex couples are discussed.
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OBJECTIVE: This study looked at the relationship between beliefs in 'scientific medicine', personal health beliefs, attitudes to complementary medical practitioners and medical treatment preferences in two different groups: medical and non-medical (mainly social science) students. It extended the previous work of looking at patient groups. DESIGN: Once the psychometric properties of the four short questionnaires (53 items in all) were established as satisfactory in terms of their factor structure, the two groups were compared. RESULTS: By means of analysis of variance it was established that there were fewer differences between medical and non-medical students than might be expected by chance. A 'higher order' factor analysis revealed three clear factors underlying attitudes to complementary medicine: pro complementary medicine; pro orthodox medicine; and satisfaction with general practitioner. All the students appeared to have a sceptical but positive attitude to complementary medicine.
The community plays a central role in new public health concepts. However, local health policy has not achieved a central role in cities and counties. Therefore it seems to be both reasonable and necessary for social sciences to analyse the health options in local politics and to identify aspects for improvement. The implementation of health priorities and their realisation at the local level, the latter with regard to supporting (positive) and hampering (negative) factors, and the development of strategies to implement health programmes are suggested as main research topics. Starting from the assumption that complex organisational processes in communities need organisational support, the role of the public health service as coordinating and initialising factor for the alteration of community health programmes should be investigated more thoroughly. The public health service as a part of the administration in municipalities is also involved in the endeavour to modernize administration. A main area for research will be how far the knowledge about participation of citizens and new management theories support health as a task of local politics.
In an era of biomedicalization where findings in genetic and neurobiological research are seen as "breakthroughs" by the media and hence by the general public, it is important for social scientists to acknowledge the effect of their contributions to the alcohol field not only to their own colleagues but also to the public at-large. Contributions of social science research to the development and evaluation of alcohol policies are illustrated in the following four areas: (1) alcohol epidemiological research focusing on the importance of examining drinking patterns and their relation to alcohol-related problems; (2) alcohol's contribution to the burden of disease; (3) alcohol control policies and their impact; and (4) brief interventions that provide strategies for at-risk drinkers as well as those who are alcohol dependent.
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The paper presents basic information about focus group interviews (FGI). The presentation has been designed as a form of introduction for people with limited experience in applied social sciences. FGI are discussed in the context of their usefulness in evaluation of health promotion and prophylactics. The discussion concentrates on the following main topics; Specificity of qualitative studies (diversity of evaluation). FGI applicability. General interview methodology. Practical solutions for focus group research.
The first cases of AIDS in Burkina Faso were reported in 1986. During the past ten years, there have been several types of research conducted in Burkina Faso in the field of social sciences, including KABP, focus groups, and ethnographic studies. This article reviews approximately 100 publications and presents the results most relevant to prevention. Although general knowledge of the disease, its transmission and means of protection has improved, part of the population remains poorly informed; erroneous ideas remain prevalent and certain concepts, for example asymptomatic infection, are ignored. Young women in rural areas have the poorest knowledge. Understanding the information is conditioned by underlying perceptions of blood and physiology, the "components of the person", pre-existent and sexually transmitted diseases, and modes of transmission. Research on sexuality has elucidated the age at which individuals become sexually active, and paramatrimonial practices. The prevalence of STD is high. STD are mostly treated by traditional practitioners or by automedication. Family planning is insufficiently developed. AIDS prevention should be integrated into wider considerations of reproductive health. The popular perception that "Others" are responsible for bringing AIDS into the country has often been reinforced by health messages. Consequently, people do not sufficiently consider themselves vulnerable to HIV infection. The populations that are most vulnerable, for various reasons that have been analysed, include young girls and women, married women, prostitutes, truck drivers, and young men from rural areas. The message "Fidelity or condom" has been widely used. However, it has hindered the generalisation of the use of condoms, because asking for a condom consequently implies distrust of the partner. The interpretation of fidelity is diverse, and many people who choose this means of prevention believe erroneously that they are protected. Studies of the social impact of AIDS reveal fragmentation of society, reactions causing social exclusion and discriminative practices, and no social visibility of HIV infected persons. After ten years of preventive actions, the prevalence of HIV is still increasing, evidence of the failure of the preventive strategies. It is no longer sufficient to see prevention as the transfer of knowledge from professionals to the population. Preventive strategies such as voluntary testing and the participation of HIV+ persons in informative actions need to be developed. Prevention should be understood on new bases. The concept of "vulnerability" might help the definition of in-depth actions and also focus interventions. The idea of developing social cohesion to confront the epidemic may help avoid some of the adverse consequences of previous actions. Do these concepts conform to current AIDS prevention attitudes? To answer this question, social scientists should study the ideologies, knowledge, beliefs, and practices of institutions and professionals working in the field of AIDS prevention.
Medical education will change from within in response to continued advances in biological sciences and technology, but changes that are occurring outside the natural sciences can have greater impact, especially (1) the reconceptualization of the meaning of health, (2) the increase in the number and range of different health improvement strategies, (3) the growing awareness of the paradox of the relatively low health status of the U.S. population and high per-capita and national health care expenditures, and (4) shifts in the causes of illness and death. These changes make it necessary for medical students to be given a foundation in both the natural and the social sciences, for most ill health has causal roots in both the social and physical environment, even though it is not understood how some of these outside influences are translated into disease or biologic derangements that lead to disease. Consideration should be given to changes in medical education that include (1) interpreting the sociology as well as the biology of health, (2) expanding the horizons of medicine to incorporate health improvement as well as disease cure, (3) training for population-based health care at the community level, and (4) learning to assess medical outcomes with more than biometric measures to include measurements of functioning and well-being. The author presents in detail a health input-output model to show the complex interrelationships of socio-ecologic (i.e., outside) factors and the individual's genetic-biologic makeup (inside factors) that determine the individual's state of health.
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