🏆Public Health Liberation: #13
1 Fundamental Cause Theory (Link & Phelan) Robustly explains the persistence of health disparities by linking them to enduring social resources (money, knowledge, power) that protect health across changing mechanisms.
2 Ecosocial Theory (Krieger) Integrates social, ecological, and historical factors to explain embodied inequities, emphasizing societal responsibility for disease patterns and advocating for epidemiologists to be activists for justice.
3 Intersectionality Theory Crucial for understanding how overlapping social identities (race, gender, class, sexuality, citizenship) and their associated systems of oppression and privilege shape complex health inequities.
4 Anti-Racism Frameworks Directly address systemic racism as a root cause of health inequities, advocating for structural interventions over individual bias and challenging embedded biases in policies and systems.
5 Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Public Health Builds upon anti-racism and postcolonial studies to examine the historical and ongoing impact of systemic racism on health and its dismantling for racial health equity.
6 Structural Violence Theory (Galtung/Farmer) Examines how societal arrangements and institutions indirectly cause harm and preventable suffering by limiting opportunities and resources, framing health access as a human right.
7 Structural Vulnerability Theory Builds on structural violence by analyzing how social hierarchies and institutional statuses constrain individuals' ability to access healthcare and pursue healthy lifestyles.
8 Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Theory Central to modern public health, particularly when applied with a critical lens to understand the unequal distribution of these determinants due to deeper "structural determinants" like racism.
9 Political Economy of Health Analyzes health inequities through the lens of economic and political systems, class struggle, and capitalism, highlighting how profit motives and unequal wealth distribution shape healthcare systems and access.
10 Marxist Theory (as applied to health) Examines health inequities via class struggle and capitalism, often grouped with Political Economy of Health, emphasizing systemic exploitation.
11 Social Justice Theory in Public Health Frames health as a fundamental human right and a matter of justice, advocating for equal rights and opportunities for health and demanding the dismantling of systemic inequities.
12 Human Rights-Based Approach Aligns with social justice, framing health as a universal right and advocating equitable access, compelling a deeper understanding of underlying determinants.
13 Public Health Liberation (PHL) A groundbreaking transdiscipline that synthesizes philosophy, theory, and practice, aiming to radically transform public health by centering liberation and community agency.
14 Praxis Theory (Freire, Gramsci, Wainwright) Combines reflection and action for health equity, rooted in social justice and critical education, emphasizing "conscientization" about oppression.
15 Public Health Realism (PHL-derived) Applies realist principles to public health, emphasizing practical equity solutions and the need to include creative and relational data about lived experiences.
16 Critical Medical Anthropology Critiques the biomedical model of health and emphasizes the role of power dynamics and social inequality in shaping health outcomes.
17 Critical Public Health Critiques mainstream public health, emphasizing power, inequity, and social justice, aligning with the core principles of Tier 1 theories.
18 Feminist Theory in Public Health Addresses gender inequities’ impact on health, advocating gender-sensitive interventions and examining power distribution in public health processes.
19 Historical Trauma Theory Explores generational health impacts of historical events like colonization and mass trauma, providing crucial context for contemporary health disparities.
20 Internalized Oppression Theory Examines how marginalized groups’ internalized oppression affects psycho-social well-being and perpetuates disadvantage.
21 Liberation Theology Advocates health equity through theological principles of liberation, aligning with structural violence and human rights approaches.
22 Queer Theory in Public Health Examines sexual orientation and gender identity’s health impacts, advocating inclusivity and addressing discrimination within healthcare systems.
23 Social Murder Concept (Engels) Frames premature deaths from inequities as systemic harm caused by social, political, or economic oppression, where a benefiting class is aware of the exploitation.
24 Theory of Health Inequity Reproduction (THIR) Explains the generational perpetuation of health disparities, emphasizing the influence of social class, gender, and race/ethnicity in macro-political contexts.
Tier 2: Comprehensive Multi-Level Frameworks (High Utility)
These frameworks provide a robust multi-level understanding of health determinants and are highly valuable for designing comprehensive interventions. They move beyond individual focus but may require integration with critical structural theories for deeper equity analysis.
25 Ecological Systems Theory Examines health through the lens of interactions across individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy levels, providing a holistic view of health determinants.
26 Social Ecological Model Often merged with Ecological Systems Theory, it explains health via multilevel environmental interactions, guiding comprehensive interventions.
27 Life Course Theory Offers a temporal dimension, considering health as an evolving capacity that develops dynamically over time and across generations, emphasizing the lifelong impact of early life experiences.
28 Biopsychosocial Model Integrates biological, psychological, and social factors for a more comprehensive understanding of health and illness, recognizing external factors' crucial role.
29 Capabilities Approach (Sen & Nussbaum) Shifts focus from mere resources to individuals’ actual opportunities and freedoms to achieve well-being, emphasizing access to valuable "beings and doings".
30 Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) A collaborative research approach that equitably involves community members, researchers, and other stakeholders throughout the research process to tackle health disparities.
31 Community Organization Theory Focuses on empowering communities to identify and address their own health issues, forming the bedrock of participatory public health approaches.
32 Health Equity Frameworks Practical tools that guide interventions specifically designed to reduce disparities, focusing on structural determinants and ensuring optimal conditions for all.
33 Health Impact Assessment A practical tool used to evaluate the potential health effects of policies, projects, or programs that may not have health as their primary objective, supporting equitable decision-making.
34 Health Impact Pyramid (Frieden) Prioritizes interventions based on their potential population impact, ranging from socioeconomic factors at the base to individual counseling at the top, illustrating broad public health impact.
35 PRECEDE-PROCEED Model A comprehensive, systematic structure for assessing health needs and then designing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion and disease prevention programs.
Tier 3: Valuable for Specific Applications, but with Limitations (Context-Dependent Utility)
These theories are useful for specific applications or individual-level interventions but have limitations in addressing broader structural inequities or may carry inherent critiques that limit their universal applicability in contemporary public health.
36 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT, Bandura) Emphasizes reciprocal determinism, where personal factors, environmental influences, and behavior interact to shape new actions, including observational learning and self-efficacy.
37 Self-Efficacy Theory Focuses on an individual's confidence in their ability to perform a behavior, often a key concept within Social Cognitive Theory and other behavioral models.
38 Health Belief Model (HBM) Explains health behaviors through a person's beliefs about perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy, widely applied for preventive behaviors.
39 Theory of Planned Behavior/Reasoned Action (TPB/TRA) Posits that behavior is primarily influenced by one's intention, shaped by attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, useful for health decision-making.
40 Protection Motivation Theory Explains health behaviors via threat and coping appraisals, focusing on individual perceptions of vulnerability and response efficacy.
41 Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model Explains behavior change via information, motivation, and behavioral skills, useful for designing targeted interventions.
42 Stages of Change Model (Transtheoretical Model) Conceptualizes behavior change as a process occurring through distinct stages (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance), useful for tailoring interventions.
43 Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) Merged with Stages of Change Model, it describes behavior change as a process through distinct stages, useful for tailoring interventions to an individual's readiness.
44 Diffusion of Innovations Theory Explains how new ideas, behaviors, or technologies spread through a social system over time, crucial for accelerating the adoption of public health programs.
45 Health Literacy Theory Focuses on an individual's ability to understand and use health information effectively, recognizing its vital role in interventions and addressing disparities.
46 Nudge Theory Uses subtle environmental cues or "nudges" to influence health behaviors, rooted in behavioral economics, acknowledging that human decisions are not always perfectly rational.
47 Behavioral Economics Theory Uses psychological insights to explain health decision-making, often designing nudges to promote healthier behaviors, and acknowledging non-rational decisions.
48 Salutogenesis Emphasizes health-promoting factors and the origins of health, rather than solely on disease, offering a positive, strengths-based approach.
49 Social Capital Theory Examines the influence of social networks and connections on health, recognizing their role in community health, though it can also foster exclusion.
50 Empowerment Theory Aims to enable individuals to control their health determinants, but is criticized for its individualistic focus and potential failure to address "real powerlessness".
51 Precaution Adoption Process Model Describes stages of adopting preventive behaviors, focusing on the decision-making process regarding risk and action.
Tier 4: Descriptive, Niche, or Heavily Critiqued (Limited Direct Application for Systemic Change)
These theories offer limited direct applicability for driving systemic change in contemporary public health or are heavily critiqued for their inherent biases or narrow focus, making them less "best to work" for addressing health equity.
Rank Theory Name Concise Justification
52 Biomedical Model Focuses solely on biological disease causes, dominant in practice but fundamentally limited for public health due to its critique for ignoring social, psychological, and equity factors.
53 AGIL Structural Functionalism (Parsons) Analyzes social systems’ stability through adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latency, but heavily critiqued for overlooking power dynamics, conflict, and social inequalities.
54 Resilience Theory Focuses on adaptive capacity, but is critiqued for placing the onus for post-traumatic adaptation on the individual rather than the systems that transmit trauma, thereby obscuring structural issues.
55 Rational Choice Theory Assumes self-interested health actions, but is challenged for its lack of realism and its failure to account for the impact of structural barriers on decision-making. 4
56 Cultural Competence Theory Promotes culturally respectful health services, but is criticized for potentially leading to stereotyping and homogenizing diverse cultures, often diverting attention from systemic biases.
57 Health Lifestyles Theory (Cockerham) Examines how class and group membership shape health behaviors based on available life chances and structural variables, insightful but primarily descriptive.
58 Hegemony Theory (Gramscian) Analyzes how dominant ideologies establish "common sense" beliefs that maintain the status quo and implicit biases in healthcare systems, marginalizing groups.
59 Elite Theory Analyzes elite influence on health policy, often perpetuating inequities through their ability to mobilize resources, form coalitions, and shape narratives.
60 Public Health 3.0 A modern approach to public health practice emphasizing cross-sector collaboration to address social determinants of health, though critiqued for its potential for technocracy.
61 Political Realism (International Relations Theory, adapted) Analyzes global health through power and state interests, often skeptical of human rights unless they reflect pre-existing power distribution.
62 Urban Regime Theory Analyzes the impact of local governance structures and different "regimes" on urban health policies, more descriptive than broadly applicable for systemic change.
63 Moral Injury Theory Explores psychological harm from moral conflicts, applied to health contexts, particularly relevant for specific populations like healthcare workers, but niche for population health.
64 Postcolonial Theory (as applied to health) Examines colonial legacies’ impact on health disparities, linking them to present-day inequalities and carceral systems, but categorized in Tier 4 due to its more descriptive and analytical nature in the report.
