[The knowledge on health and the social sciences]

Area of Science:

• Epistemology of health
• Interdisciplinary health studies
• Social determinants of health

Context:

• Challenges in understanding health from physiological, epidemiological, and sociological perspectives.
• Health viewed as a complex social and collective issue.
• Need for a unified approach to health research and interpretation.

Purpose:

• To address the epistemological challenges in defining and interpreting health.
• To explore obstacles in comprehending health across multiple scientific disciplines.
• To propose a framework for analyzing health from a social science viewpoint.

Summary:

• The paper discusses the difficulties in achieving a complete interpretation of health due to disciplinary silos.
• It highlights the need to overcome these obstacles by considering health's inherent nature and specificity.
• A model is presented for analyzing health through the lens of social sciences, moving beyond single-discipline views.

Impact:

• Provides a novel perspective on health as a concept rooted in its own nature, not just disciplinary definitions.
• Offers a framework for social scientists to better analyze and understand collective health issues.
• Encourages a more integrated and holistic approach to health research and policy development.