Inequalities and research need to be balanced

EDITOR—Smith is correct in saying that indifference to the social impact of research has produced a serious imbalance in the research portfolio.1 Reporting on my own field, public health, the health select committee recently concluded that the public health function had been dominated for too long by a culture, mind set, and training scheme that emphasise the epidemiology and science of public health rather than its practice in bringing about change. Smith talks about the likely social benefits of research on incontinence …