TY - JOUR
T1 - Global health equity: evidence for action on the social determinants of health
AU - Marmot, M
AU - Friel, Sharon
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - More than 30 years ago, the older of us published a paper with the proposal that all scientific papers should start with a statement along the lines of: "These are the opinions on which I base my facts". Why pretend? To take a topical example, if you are on the nature side of the nature/nurture debates, is it likely that your next paper will be an apologia: "I take it all back; genes don't matter at all; it is all environment"? Unlikely. Similarly, if you are on the other side. (We know. It's both.) Here, we are not in any way arguing for a relativist credo that would say opinions are all. Along with other readers of this journal, we spend a good part of our working lives gathering, analysing and interpreting empirical evidence. Evidence matters. But everyone has values and they do affect our positions.
AB - More than 30 years ago, the older of us published a paper with the proposal that all scientific papers should start with a statement along the lines of: "These are the opinions on which I base my facts". Why pretend? To take a topical example, if you are on the nature side of the nature/nurture debates, is it likely that your next paper will be an apologia: "I take it all back; genes don't matter at all; it is all environment"? Unlikely. Similarly, if you are on the other side. (We know. It's both.) Here, we are not in any way arguing for a relativist credo that would say opinions are all. Along with other readers of this journal, we spend a good part of our working lives gathering, analysing and interpreting empirical evidence. Evidence matters. But everyone has values and they do affect our positions.
U2 - 10.1136/jech.2008.081695
DO - 10.1136/jech.2008.081695
M3 - Article
VL - 62
SP - 1095
EP - 1097
JO - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
JF - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
SN - 0143-005X
IS - 12
ER -