The Pivotal Role of the Social Sciences in Environmental Health Sciences Research

Abstract

Environmental health sciences research seeks to elucidate environmental factors that put human health at risk. A primary aim is to develop strategies to prevent or reduce exposures and disease occurrence. Given this primary focus on prevention, environmental health sciences research focuses on the populations most at risk such as communities of color and/or low socioeconomic status. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences research programs incorporate the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research to study health disparities. These programs promote community engagement, culturally appropriate communications with a variety of stakeholders, and consideration of the social determinants of health that interact with environmental factors to increase risk. Multidisciplinary research teams that include social and behavioral scientists are essential to conduct this type of research. This article outlines the history of social and behavioral research funding at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and offers examples of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences-funded projects that exemplify the value of social science to the environmental health sciences.

Stress, health, noise exposures, and injuries among electronic waste recycling workers in Ghana

“…This finding, coupled with the significant independent relationship of self-reported health status and number of injuries, suggests that intervention efforts focused on mental and physical health among e-waste recycling workers may be warranted. Additional studies of the relationship between occupational exposures and working conditions among informal e-waste recycling workers and perceived and objectively assessed health status are needed to confirm these findings [2, 23] and better characterize the environmental health issues associated with e-waste recycling work [2, 7, 25].…”

Toxic trespass

“…To study complex environmental phenomena like the exposure pathway, sociologists and other social scientists are increasingly engaged in transdisciplinary collaborations in environmental health fields (Hoover et al 2015;Finn and Collman 2016;Matz et al 2016). With a strong focus on environmental inequalities, research has moved away from isolated disciplinary silos toward engaged, transdisciplinary work in partnership with impacted communities to investigate exposures and health effects, mitigate hazards, influence environmental policy, and prevent new exposures.…”

Combining Social Science and Environmental Health Research for Community Engagement

“…Many environmental health scientists provide resources to affected communities and larger national communities, and some have incorporated social science into their understanding of the field. Environmental health scientists at NIEHS point to the crucial role of social science research in demonstrating the importance of behavioral and social factors, such as poverty and relative income, the use of techniques such as network analysis to examine environmental disaster effects, and the application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to EH overall [5]. They highlight social science contributions to understanding topics such as the social determinants of health and the role of social movements in pressing for public health prevention and amelioration [5].…”