BMJ 2002;325:210-213 ( 27 July )

Education and debate

Anthropology in health research: from qualitative methods to multidisciplinarity

Helen Lambert, senior lecturer in medical anthropology ^a, Christopher McKevitt, research fellow in social anthropology ^b. 

^a Department of Social Medicine, Bristol University, Bristol BS8 2PY, ^b Department of Public Health Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 3QD

Correspondence to: H Lambert H.Lambert@bristol.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

As a response to concerns about the standard of qualitative research, attention has focused on the methods used. However, this may constrain the direction and content of qualitative studies and legitimise substandard research. Helen Lambert and Christopher McKevitt explain why anthropology may be able to contribute useful insights to health research

Qualitative methods are now common in research into the social and cultural dimensions of ill health and health care. These methods derive from several social sciences, but the concepts and knowledge from some disciplinary traditions are underused. Here we describe the potential contribution of anthropology, which is based on the empirical comparison of particular societies. Anthropology has biological, social, and cultural branches, but when applied to health issues it most commonly relates to the social and cultural dimensions of health, ill health, and medicine.¹

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	What is wrong with qualitative research?

Explaining qualitative research to health professionals has been an essential step in gaining acceptance of . . . [Full text of this article]

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