Contested Illnesses

The politics and science of health and disease remain contested terrain among scientists, health practitioners, policy makers, industry, communities, and the public. This book asserts that science, activism, and policy are not separate issues and shows how the contribution of environmental factors in disease is often overlooked. “ Contested Illnesses is filled with brilliant ground breaking work at the frontier of environmental health and justice. Phil Brown and his colleagues, all leaders in their fields, address the critical issues in science and sociology of the epidemic of environmental illnesses we all face. This necessary book will be essential reading for scientists, patient advocates and all those engaged in the greatest public health issues of our time.”--Michael Lerner, President of Commonweal and Co-founder of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment “Contested Illnesses has elevated “community-based participatory research” to a high standard of theory and practice. The work provides a deep understanding of cultural conflicts in disease causation and sets a new path for interdisciplinary environmental research. The “Contested Illness Research Group” will be modeled whenever public interest science partners with communities to assess and improve environmental health."--Sheldon Krimsky, co-author of Genetic Justice: DNA Databanks, Criminal Investigations and Civil Liberties "The work of the Contested Illnesses Research Group draws on an unusually diverse set of theoretical traditions, and this volume does a nice job of showing how the pieces fit together. It has a coherence of voice that reflects years of collaboration." --Steven Epstein, author of Inclusion: The Politics of Difference in Medical Research The politics and science of health and disease remain contested terrain among scientists, health practitioners, policy makers, industry, communities, and the public. Stakeholders in disputes about illnesses or conditions disagree over their fundamental causes as well as how they should be treated and prevented. This thought-provoking book crosses disciplinary boundaries by engaging with both public health policy and social science, asserting that science, activism, and policy are not separate issues and showing how the contribution of environmental factors in disease is often overlooked.