title: Understanding the public's health problems: applications of symbolic interaction to public health.
abstract: Public health has typically investigated health issues using methods from the positivistic paradigm. Yet these approaches, although they are able to quantify the problem, may not be able to explain the social reasons of why the problem exists or the impact on those affected. This article will provide a brief overview of a sociological theory that provides methods and a theoretical framework that has proven useful in understanding public health problems and developing interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia b.maycock@curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maycock
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D066269:Social Theory; D013561:Symbolism
keywords: health promotion; public health; symbolic interaction