Improving the fit between social science and health care practice: suggested next steps for the researcher

The aim of this paper is to assess social science research on health and illness in order to enhance its utility for the practical world of health care. The premise is that both social scientists and health care professionals share complementary intellectual interests in fostering empirical research on health and illness. Barriers built into the orientation and reward structure of both professions impede collaborative efforts. In our view, however, the advantages of working on these problems outweigh the disadvantages. Toward this end, we suggest several substantive and methodological directions to be encouraged and then discuss prospects for collaboration from the perspectives of social science, medicine and the wider society. We see opportunity for comparative work, synthesis and the systematic nesting of findings into a knowledge base that will permit generalizations. Our goal is to improve the fit between social science and health practice by increasing the relevance of social science findings for the delivery of care and the training of health care professionals. In addition, hopefully, our suggestions will advance social research independent of its impact on the health field.