The case for a more epidemiologically informed nursing profession

Abstract

This paper argues that a more epidemiologically informed nursing profession could confidently challenge conventional medical epidemiology, and yet retain those concepts useful to a more holistic interpretation of the discipline and its practice. Situated within biomedicine and based on natural science, epidemiology has often been ignored by nursing, which has developed a more holistic model of health and illness and a wide range of research methodologies. However, epidemiology is evolving as mainstream approaches to research using quantitative methodologies are challenged by qualitative techniques and the emergence of 'popular epidemiology'. An epidemiology which examined questions of sickness and health from different epistemological and methodological perspectives would have more in common with prevailing ideologies in nursing. Complications arise as disciplines such as nursing and epidemiology, with different epistemologies and theoretical approaches, attempt to tackle similar problems. The difficulties are not only with paradigm incompatibility: each profession will be jealously guarding its particular territory and area of expertise. There has been little exploration of mutual or overlapping concepts and the new insights which these might bring to both disciplines. This paper attempts to redress this gap and argues that nursing has the potential to consolidate an increasingly divergent epidemiology, while gaining valuable skills to add to its own 'tool-box'.