TY - JOUR
T1 - Economic rationalisation of health behaviours: the dangers of attempting policy discussions in a vacuum
AU - Reilly, Rachel
AU - Rowley, Kevin
AU - Luke, Joanne
AU - Doyle, Joyce
AU - Ritte, Rebecca
AU - O'Shea, Rebekah
AU - Brown, Alex
PY - 2014/8
Y1 - 2014/8
N2 - When analysing the health behaviours of any group of people, understanding the constraints and possibilities for individual agency as shaped by the broader societal context is critical. In recent decades, our understanding of the ways in which physical and social environments influence health and health behaviours has expanded greatly. The authors of a recent analysis of Australian Aboriginal health data using an economic 'rational choice model,' published in this journal, claim to make a useful contribution to policy discussions relating to Aboriginal health, but neglect context. By doing so, they neglect the very factors that determine the success or failure of policy change. Notwithstanding the technical sophistication of the analyses, by ignoring most relevant determinants of health, the conclusions misrepresent the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and therefore risk perpetuating harm, rather than improving health.
AB - When analysing the health behaviours of any group of people, understanding the constraints and possibilities for individual agency as shaped by the broader societal context is critical. In recent decades, our understanding of the ways in which physical and social environments influence health and health behaviours has expanded greatly. The authors of a recent analysis of Australian Aboriginal health data using an economic 'rational choice model,' published in this journal, claim to make a useful contribution to policy discussions relating to Aboriginal health, but neglect context. By doing so, they neglect the very factors that determine the success or failure of policy change. Notwithstanding the technical sophistication of the analyses, by ignoring most relevant determinants of health, the conclusions misrepresent the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and therefore risk perpetuating harm, rather than improving health.
KW - Aboriginal health
KW - Australia
KW - Health inequalities
KW - Health policy
KW - Lifestyle
KW - Rational choice model
KW - Research ethics
KW - Social determinants
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904742865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.04.036
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.04.036
M3 - Article
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 114
SP - 200
EP - 203
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
ER -