Taking stock of interpretive scholarship in evidence-based public health

Lisa M. Pfadenhauer and Michaela Coenen

Chapter 6 in Handbook of Interpretive Research Methods in the Social Sciences, 2025, pp 90-107 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In this chapter, we take stock of the application of interpretive scholarship in the field of public health. With its roots in evidence-based medicine, the science of public health has been dominated by positivist epistemology, with a strong focus on methods that were considered robust and reliable for producing replicable results. In public health, however, researchers deal with complex interventions and systems, and are therefore well advised to acknowledge the multifaceted nature of public health issues, as well as the dynamic interplay within systems. Here, we examine epistemological, theoretical, methodological, and system-level challenges encountered by public health scholars that have acted as barriers to the application of methods and ideas beyond the positivist paradigm. We continue by presenting promising strategies and approaches that might help scholars overcome these prevailing challenges, and conclude by discussing future directions.

Keywords: Public health; Evidence; Complexity of systems; Interpretation; Knowledge; Research methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803926384
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