Contribuciones de la epidemiología social a la comprensión de las condiciones de salud de las poblaciones

Abstract

Form literature reviews, some coincidences of different conceptual proposals are identified, developed in Latin American and Anglo-Saxon social epidemiology are identified searching for understanding of the relationship between health social processes and population disease conditions. The starting point in social epidemiology is usually conformed by three premises: a) social reality is organized hierarchically in three levels: social, group and individual, more complex levels usually determine those of less complexity; b) biological and psychological processes are subordinated to social processes and c) to understand collective health problems the particular insertion of specific social groups within a society must be understood since that insertion, determines the living conditions of individuals their health conditions. The concept of social inequality in health is analyzed from two perspectives: a) a conceptual perspective, approach it as sanitary reality and b) an ethical perspective, discussing the morality of existing differences in living and health conditions among social groups. The last part of this essay contrasts social epidemiology and conventional epidemiology approaches.