Social Epidemiology

3 units

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the discipline of social epidemiology; and its role in understanding the social determinants of health and health inequities. Given the breadth of the developing field of social epidemiology, this course will provide a systematic and selective overview of literature in the field covering the history and development of the field of social epidemiology, theoretical perspectives, major substantive areas, conceptual approaches, and current controversies related to theory, research methods, and research findings. The approach taken includes consideration of fundamental causes of health as well as upstream and downstream factors. Substantive areas covered include but are not limited to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic position, social capital, gender, life course approaches and area effects, placing emphasis on methods and issues of measurement.