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Epidemiologists, social scientists, and the structure of medical research on aids in Africa

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  • Packard, Randall M.
  • Epstein, Paul

Abstract

The development of medical research on AIDS in Africa resembles earlier efforts to understand the epidemiology of TB and syphilis in Africa. In all three cases early research focused on why these diseases exhibited epidemiological patterns in Africa than in the west. Early explanations of these differences focused on the peculiarities of African behavior, while largely excluding from vision a range of environmental factors. These parallels provide a framework for examining how western ideas about AIDS in Africa developed, the role of social scientists in the formation of these ideas, and how these initial perceptions shaped the subsequent development of AIDS research, encouraging a premature narrowing of research questions. The paper warns that, as in the histories of TB and syphilis research, this early closure may generate inadequate and inappropriate responses to the African AIDS epidemic and limit our understanding of the disease.

Suggested Citation

  • Packard, Randall M. & Epstein, Paul, 1991. "Epidemiologists, social scientists, and the structure of medical research on aids in Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 771-783, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:33:y:1991:i:7:p:771-783
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    Cited by:

    1. Hunter, Mark, 2007. "The changing political economy of sex in South Africa: The significance of unemployment and inequalities to the scale of the AIDS pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 689-700, February.
    2. Pearce, Tola Olu. & Ruigu, George., 1995. "The impact of HIV/AIDS on the productive labour force in Africa," ILO Working Papers 993525843402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Michael Hennessy, 1994. "Adolescent Syndromes of Risk for HIV Infection," Evaluation Review, , vol. 18(3), pages 312-341, June.
    4. Kirsten P. Smith, 2003. "Why are they worried? Concern about AIDS in rural Malawi," Demographic Research Special Collections, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 1(9), pages 279-318.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:352584 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Taylor, Julie J., 2007. "Assisting or compromising intervention? The concept of 'culture' in biomedical and social research on HIV/AIDS," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 965-975, February.

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