title: Physiological mechanisms and epidemiological research.
abstract: In evidence-based medicine's hierarchy of evidence, physiological research ranks very low. Recent work in philosophy of science has suggested that there may be a role for knowledge of physiological mechanisms in clinical decision making, either (in some rare circumstances) by providing sufficient evidence that a therapy is effective or by bridging the gap between the results of clinical research and the care of individual patients. I argue that both suggestions are problematic and suggest an alternative role for physiological research. Specifically, I suggest that knowledge of physiological mechanisms should be better incorporated into the kind of epidemiological research that is central to evidence-based medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bluhm
mesh_terms: D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D010829:Physiological Phenomena