Abstract

POUVOURVILLE, Gérard de. Public health research: between science and action?. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 1999, vol.15, n.4, pp. 889-894. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X1999000400023.

In this text, we first propose a concept of public health research as a multidisciplinary endeavor whose aim is to identify the main determinants of people's health status, analyzed at the collective level. The public's health is thus envisioned as a socially determined reality, in which risk factors include biological phenomena as well as a given community's social and economic environment. Second, we argue that public health research should be applicable research, i.e. that it should be useful to decision-makers. But since the relationship between science and action is conflicting, it is necessary to invent mediatory practices to facilitate interaction between researchers and decision-makers.

Keywords : Epistemology; Health Policy; Public Health.