Linking culture and structure: Adding time and environment - A commentary

摘要

Kagawa Singer (2012) gives her perspective on what is needed to improve the science in this arena. She identifies erroneous uses of culture and argues that clearer definitions and conceptual frameworks, with better operationalization of underlying concepts are essential for obtaining valid and relevant data on cultural influences. She suggests a series of 6 next steps, including a call to establish formal guidelines for conducting and reporting research on the use of culture in population science, that are echoed in various ways in the other articles. Wyatt et al. (2012) report results of a systematic review to draw attention to inadequacies and inconsistencies in how cultural issues are (or are not) defined and addressed in interventions to prevent or reduce risks of HIV/AIDS. Kumanyika et al. provide a detailed framework for use in exploring cultural-contextual issues and pathways that are associated with higher than average prevalence rates of obesity among diverse racial/ethnic minority populations living in high income countries (Kumanyika et al., 2012).