Abstract

REGIDOR, Enrique. Social welfare policy and inequalities in health. Preconceived truths in scientific research. Rev. Esp. Salud Publica [online]. 2016, vol.90, e20004.  Epub June 07, 2021. ISSN 2173-9110.

At the end of the first decade of the present century debates arose in social epidemiology. These debates set those who defend the existence of a relation between the political and/or welfare stage regime and the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in health against those who maintain the facts do not support such a relation. These debates are similar to other debates in epidemiology in the 1990s related with theories of how diseases are produced and the factors that determine their distribution in the population. Whereas some authors find it impossible to separate ethical and political aspects and professional values from scientific arguments, others consider that epidemiologists and other scientists should make an effort to distinguish between scientific and unscientific considerations. In this paper the author reflects about the harmony that keep science, politics and ethics in the scientific practice on health inequalities, although the empirical evidence is contrary to that harmonious effect.

Keywords : Health and welfare planning; Socioeconomic Factors; Healthcare Disparities; Health Inequalities; Europe.

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