Citation

Øversveen E, Rydland HT, Bambra C, Eikemo TA. Scand. J. Public Health 2017; 45(2): 103-112.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Associations of Public Health in the Nordic Countries Regions, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1403494816686711

PMID

28078944

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study is to analyse previous explanations of social inequality in health and argue for a closer integration of sociological theory into future empirical research.

METHODS: We examine cultural-behavioural, materialist, psychosocial and life-course approaches, in addition to fundamental cause theory. Giddens' structuration theory and a neo-materialist approach, inspired by Bruno Latour, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, are proposed as ways of rethinking the causal relationship between socio-economic status and health.

CONCLUSIONS: Much of the empirical research on health inequalities has tended to rely on explanations with a static and unidirectional view of the association between socio-economic status and health, assuming a unidirectional causal relationship between largely static categories. We argue for the use of sociological theory to develop more dynamic models that enhance the understanding of the complex pathways and mechanisms linking social structures to health.

Language: en

Keywords

Social inequalities in health; fundamental cause theory; health inequalities research; medical sociology; neo-materialism; public health research; social determinants; sociological theory; structuration theory