Social epidemiology, is a predominantly empirically-oriented discipline, that is mailnly centred towards the identification of unequally distributed risk factors in explaining socio-economic health inequalities (SEHI). This article first presents an overview of the different empirical causes of SEHI. Then it is argued that the very convincing empirical results are in contrast with a poor social scientific operationalisation of the social mechanisms causing SEHI. In this paper the concept of fundamental social causes of disease, introdiced by Link and Phelan (1995), is provided of a stronger social-theoretical framework. One point of special concern is the position of the fundamental causes within the structure and agency-problem of sociology. Next, the fundamental causes are discribed more accurately as "relational systems of means allocation". It is our central argument that a careful conceptualisation of fundamental social causes is needed in order to ba able to identify them. This is illustrated by two examples.
| Date of Award | 8 Jun 2009 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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| Supervisor | Anne-Marie Depoorter (Jury), F. Louckx (Promotor), Katia Levecque (Co-promotor), Guy Moors (Co-promotor), Piet Bracke (Jury), Hans De Witte (Jury), Isabelle Godin (Jury) & Jacques Vilrokx (Jury) |
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- Sociology
- Health complaints
- Work and Employment
- health inequalities
- conceptualization
Work-Related Health Complaints in a Post-Fordist Labour Force. A sociology of work-related socio-ecenomic health inequalities.
Vanroelen, C. ((PhD) Student), Louckx, F. (Promotor), Levecque, K. (Co-promotor), Moors, G. (Co-promotor), Depoorter, A. (Jury), Bracke, P. (Jury), De Witte, H. (Jury), Godin, I. (Jury), Vilrokx, J. (Jury). 8 Jun 2009
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis