I would like to thank Kahn et al. for their generous reading of my recent Editor's Choice.1 I am in full agreement. If I were to extend that brief text into a full-fledged article, certainly social justice as it relates to public health is an area I would cover.
Even considering the capital importance that good science has for public health, it is but a tool to reach its actual goals, namely, to improve the health and well being of human populations. As in all health-related fields (i.e., promotion, prevention, care), its basic principles are ethical values, from which the paths of action are derived, recruiting the relevant bodies of knowledge as it moves along.
We are proud heirs to Virchowian tradition that established social justice as an integral part of health promotion and prevention. It is encouraging to see that this principle is once again being acknowledged both in academia and in political circles; the report from the World Health Organization committee of social determinants in health, for instance, is a clear step in that direction.2
The American Public Health Association and its fellow public health associations all over the world share this commitment to fight social injustice as part of their mission. After all, as Dr. King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
References
- 1.Camargo KR., Jr Science, knowledge, and society. Am J Public Health. 2011;101(8):1352. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Camargo KR., Jr Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Glob Public Health. 2011;6(1):102–105 [Google Scholar]