Sociologists in public health:marginal observers or mainstream collaborators?

Abstract

At first glance, sociology and public health should make for good partners. Both disciplines address the social, environmental, and community contexts of embodiment and well-being. Both are concerned with social inequality, social justice, and the politics of policy-making. Both are staffed by committed professionals who engage with the public, community leaders, and stakeholders to make a difference to people’s lives. However, the marginal influence of sociology within UK public health became apparent during the pandemic1 in its role in UK Government scientific advisory groups. Sociological insights were missing, for instance, in responses to class, ethnic, and gender variations in infection and care-seeking.2 The congruity of the disciplines has been recognised in recent UK public health guidance3–5 which identifies a need to enhance public health’s collaborative work with sociologists. So why is it that sociology and public health do not collaborate more? And what might sociologists do to enhance their contributions to public health? Here, a group of sociologists suggest some solutions, deriving from a workshop conducted in 2022.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17579139231204245
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Sociology and Policy
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Health and Society
Aston University (General)
Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The workshop on which this article is based was funded by the Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness. Writing tim
Additional Information: Copyright © Royal Society for Public Health 2023. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Publication ISSN: 1757-9147
Last Modified: 25 Nov 2024 08:51
Date Deposited: 20 Mar 2024 17:29
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
https://journal ... 579139231204245 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2024-03-05
Published Online Date: 2024-03-05
Accepted Date: 2024-03-01
Authors: Powell, K
Fox, NJ
Bhanbhro, S
Chauhan, A
Z, A Goldschmied
Jackson, K
Paton, A (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4310-6983)
Salway, S

Download

[img]

Version: Published Version

License: Creative Commons Attribution

| Preview

Export / Share Citation


Statistics

Additional statistics for this record