The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health by Venkatapuram, Sridhar; Broadbent, Alex;

Short description:

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health is a field-defining and sustained reflection on the various ethical, political, methodological and conceptual aspects of global public health.

Long description:

In comparison to medicine, the professional field of public health is far less familiar. What is public health, and perhaps as importantly, what should public health be or become? How do causal concepts shape the public health agenda? How do study designs either promote or demote the environmental causal factors or health inequalities? How is risk understood, expressed, and communicated? Who is public health research centered on? How can we develop technologies so the benefits are more fairly distributed? Do people have a right to public health? How should we integrate ethics into public health practice?

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health addresses these questions and more, and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising 26 chapters by an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors, the handbook is divided into four clear parts:

• Concepts and distinctions


• Reasons and actions


• Distribution and inequalities


• Rights and duties

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health is a field-defining and sustained reflection on the various ethical, political, methodological, and conceptual aspects of global public health. As such it is an essential reference source for students and scholars working in political philosophy, bioethics, public health ethics, and the philosophy of medicine, as well as for professionals and researchers in related fields such as public health, health economics, and epidemiology.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Philosophy and Public Health Alex Broadbent and Sridhar Venkatapuram  Part 1: Concepts and Distinctions 1. The Public in Public Health John Coggon  2. Medicine and Public Health Daniel Steel  3. Groups and Individuals Stephen John  4. Concepts of Health and Disease in Public Health Benjamin Smart  5. Public Health and Ethics Sridhar Venkatapuram  6. The Philosophical Implications of Fundamental Cause Theory Daniel Goldberg  7. Causal Pluralism and Public Health Federica Russo  Part 2: Reasons and Actions  8. External Validity and Public Health Chad Harris  9. Explanation in Public Health Olaf Dammann  10. Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Health Mathew Mercuri and Ross E. G. Upshur  11. Profiling in Public Health Winnie Ma  12. Big Data and Public Health Derek W. Braverman  13. Machine Learning and Public Health: Philosophical Issues Thomas Grote and Alex Broadbent  Part 3: Distribution and Inequalities  14. Capabilities, Human Flourishing, and the Health Gap Michael Marmot  15. Measuring Social Position in Health Inequality Research Mel Bartley  16. Race and Racism in Public Health M.A. Diamond-Hunter  17. Sex and Gender Blind Spots and Biases in Health Research Avni Amin, Lavanya Vijayasingham, and Jacqui Stevenson  18. Global Health Indicators and Data: Communicative Signs and Sites of Contest Sara L. M. Davis  19. Securitization and Health Jeremy Youde  20. Health, Place and Justice: A Philosophical Appraisal of Promoting Equity in Covid-19 through Disadvantage Indices Samantha Fritz, Tuhina Srivastava, Emily Sadecki, and Harald Schmidt  Part 4: Rights and Duties  21. Social Justice and Public Health Maxwell J. Smith  22. Health, Healthcare, and Public Health as Objects of (Human) Rights Michael Da Silva  23. Disability Justice and Public Health Agnès Berthelot-Raffard  24. Ageing and Justice in Health: A Conceptual Map toward a Unified View Kebadu Mekonnen Gebremariam and Ritu Sadana  25. Philosophical Issues in Cancer and Public Health Anya Plutynski  26. Public Health, Human Rights, and Philosophy Kristen Hessler.  Index