Culture: The missing link in health research

M. Kagawa Singer; W. Dressler; S. George; Claudia R. Baquet; Ronny A. Bell; Linda Burhansstipanov; Nancy J. Burke; Suzanne Dibble; William Elwood; Linda Garro; Clarence C. Gravlee; Peter Guarnaccia; Michael L. Hecht; Jeffrey Henderson; Dan Hruschka; Roberto Lewis-Fernández; Robert Like; Charles Mouton; Hector F. Myers; J. Bryan Page; Rena Pasick; Bernice Pescosolido; Nancy Schoenberg; Bradley Stoner; Gregory Strayhorn; Laura Szalacha; Joseph Trimble; Thomas S. Weisner; David Williams

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015

Culture: The missing link in health research

M. Kagawa Singer, W. Dressler, S. George, Claudia R. Baquet, Ronny A. Bell, Linda Burhansstipanov, Nancy J. Burke, Suzanne Dibble, William Elwood, Linda Garro, Clarence C. Gravlee, Peter Guarnaccia, Michael L. Hecht, Jeffrey Henderson, Dan Hruschka, Roberto Lewis-Fernández, Robert Like, Charles Mouton, Hector F. Myers, J. Bryan PageRena Pasick, Bernice Pescosolido, Nancy Schoenberg, Bradley Stoner, Gregory Strayhorn, Laura Szalacha, Joseph Trimble, Thomas S. Weisner, David Williams

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

161 Scopus citations

Abstract

Culture is essential for humans to exist. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to identifying how culture works or developing standards to guide the application of this concept in health research. This paper describes a multidisciplinary effort to find consensus on essential elements of a definition of culture to guide researchers in studying how cultural processes influence health and health behaviors. We first highlight the lack of progress made in the health sciences to explain differences between population groups, and then identify 10 key barriers in research impeding progress in more effectively and rapidly realizing equity in health outcomes. Second, we highlight the primarily mono-cultural lens through which health behavior is currently conceptualized, third, we present a consensus definition of culture as an integrating framework, and last, we provide guidelines to more effectively operationalize the concept of culture for health research. We hope this effort will be useful to researchers, reviewers, and funders alike.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	237-246
Number of pages	10
Journal	Social Science and Medicine
Volume	170
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015
State	Published - Dec 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Cross-cultural health
Culture
Culture and health
Culture defined
Culture of science
Culture, race, and ethnicity
Health disparities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health(social science)
History and Philosophy of Science

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10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015

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Kagawa Singer, M., Dressler, W., George, S., Baquet, C. R., Bell, R. A., Burhansstipanov, L., Burke, N. J., Dibble, S., Elwood, W., Garro, L., Gravlee, C. C., Guarnaccia, P., Hecht, M. L., Henderson, J., Hruschka, D., Lewis-Fernández, R., Like, R., Mouton, C., Myers, H. F., ... Williams, D. (2016). Culture: The missing link in health research. Social Science and Medicine, 170, 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015

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abstract = "Culture is essential for humans to exist. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to identifying how culture works or developing standards to guide the application of this concept in health research. This paper describes a multidisciplinary effort to find consensus on essential elements of a definition of culture to guide researchers in studying how cultural processes influence health and health behaviors. We first highlight the lack of progress made in the health sciences to explain differences between population groups, and then identify 10 key barriers in research impeding progress in more effectively and rapidly realizing equity in health outcomes. Second, we highlight the primarily mono-cultural lens through which health behavior is currently conceptualized, third, we present a consensus definition of culture as an integrating framework, and last, we provide guidelines to more effectively operationalize the concept of culture for health research. We hope this effort will be useful to researchers, reviewers, and funders alike.",

keywords = "Cross-cultural health, Culture, Culture and health, Culture defined, Culture of science, Culture, race, and ethnicity, Health disparities",

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doi = "10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015",

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Kagawa Singer, M, Dressler, W, George, S, Baquet, CR, Bell, RA, Burhansstipanov, L, Burke, NJ, Dibble, S, Elwood, W, Garro, L, Gravlee, CC, Guarnaccia, P, Hecht, ML, Henderson, J, Hruschka, D, Lewis-Fernández, R, Like, R, Mouton, C, Myers, HF, Page, JB, Pasick, R, Pescosolido, B, Schoenberg, N, Stoner, B, Strayhorn, G, Szalacha, L, Trimble, J, Weisner, TS & Williams, D 2016, 'Culture: The missing link in health research', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 170, pp. 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015

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AU - Dressler, W.

AU - George, S.

AU - Baquet, Claudia R.

AU - Bell, Ronny A.

AU - Burhansstipanov, Linda

AU - Burke, Nancy J.

AU - Dibble, Suzanne

AU - Elwood, William

AU - Garro, Linda

AU - Gravlee, Clarence C.

AU - Guarnaccia, Peter

AU - Hecht, Michael L.

AU - Henderson, Jeffrey

AU - Hruschka, Dan

AU - Lewis-Fernández, Roberto

AU - Like, Robert

AU - Mouton, Charles

AU - Myers, Hector F.

AU - Page, J. Bryan

AU - Pasick, Rena

AU - Pescosolido, Bernice

AU - Schoenberg, Nancy

AU - Stoner, Bradley

AU - Strayhorn, Gregory

AU - Szalacha, Laura

AU - Trimble, Joseph

AU - Weisner, Thomas S.

AU - Williams, David

PY - 2016/12/1

Y1 - 2016/12/1

N2 - Culture is essential for humans to exist. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to identifying how culture works or developing standards to guide the application of this concept in health research. This paper describes a multidisciplinary effort to find consensus on essential elements of a definition of culture to guide researchers in studying how cultural processes influence health and health behaviors. We first highlight the lack of progress made in the health sciences to explain differences between population groups, and then identify 10 key barriers in research impeding progress in more effectively and rapidly realizing equity in health outcomes. Second, we highlight the primarily mono-cultural lens through which health behavior is currently conceptualized, third, we present a consensus definition of culture as an integrating framework, and last, we provide guidelines to more effectively operationalize the concept of culture for health research. We hope this effort will be useful to researchers, reviewers, and funders alike.

AB - Culture is essential for humans to exist. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to identifying how culture works or developing standards to guide the application of this concept in health research. This paper describes a multidisciplinary effort to find consensus on essential elements of a definition of culture to guide researchers in studying how cultural processes influence health and health behaviors. We first highlight the lack of progress made in the health sciences to explain differences between population groups, and then identify 10 key barriers in research impeding progress in more effectively and rapidly realizing equity in health outcomes. Second, we highlight the primarily mono-cultural lens through which health behavior is currently conceptualized, third, we present a consensus definition of culture as an integrating framework, and last, we provide guidelines to more effectively operationalize the concept of culture for health research. We hope this effort will be useful to researchers, reviewers, and funders alike.

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KW - Culture of science

KW - Culture, race, and ethnicity

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SP - 237

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JO - Social Science and Medicine

JF - Social Science and Medicine

ER -

Culture: The missing link in health research

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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