
Pragmatic politics and epistemological diversity: the contested and authoritative uses of historical evidence in the Safe Motherhood Initiative
In recent years, the demand for cost-effective evidence of health impact has grown exponentially, often to the exclusion of other disciplines and of epidemiology's longstanding interest in the multivariate determinants of health. Drawing on an ethnography of the Safe Motherhood Initiative,
this paper focuses on experts who, in producing historical case-study evidence, exceptionally inhabit a stigmatising epistemological position while still successfully commanding the respect of policy makers. To theorise the sources and effects of this epistemic diversity, we draw on the anthropology
and sociology of science, and specifically on Holmes and Marcus' analyses of 'para-ethnographic' modes of reasoning.
38 References.
No Supplementary Data.
No Article Media
No Metrics
Keywords: ANTHROPOLOGY OF SCIENCE; EPISTEMOLOGY; EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY; SAFE MOTHERHOOD
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Email: [email protected] 2: Email: [email protected]
Publication date: January 2013
Evidence & Policy is the first peer-reviewed journal dedicated to comprehensive and critical assessment of the relationship between research evidence and the concerns of policy makers and practitioners, as well as researchers.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Policy Press journals homepage
- Evidence & Policy fast track articles
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites