Olaf Dammann – författare

Theory of illness causation is an important issue in all biomedical sciences, and solid etiological explanations are needed in order to develop therapeutic approaches in medicine and preventive interventions in public health. Until now, the literature about the theoretical underpinnings of illness causation research has been scarce and fragmented, and lacking a convenient summary. This interdisciplinary book provides a convenient and accessible distillation of the current status of research into this developing field, and adds a personal flavor to the discussion by proposing the etiological stance as a comprehensive approach to identify modifiable causes of illness.

Key Features

• Provides a synthesis of the epidemiological and philosophical concepts in this growing research area

• Gives an accessible overview of current methods in biomedical causal metaphysics ̶ what is a cause of illness? ̶ and epistemology ̶ how do we identify it?

• Proposes a novel approach that integrates modern epidemiological methodology and recent theories from philosophy of science

Written for postgraduate students and researchers in the health and biomedical sciences, including those undertaking courses in the philosophy of medicine/science, public and global health, introduction to epidemiology, research methods, and advanced reasoning, the content will also be of interest to practicing public health workers, biomedical scientists, and physicians.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olaf Dammann is Professor and Vice Chair of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; as well as a Professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Cover image: Mask used by "Eskimo" shaman in causation of illness.

Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Theory of illness causation is an important issue in all biomedical sciences, and solid etiological explanations are needed in order to develop therapeutic approaches in medicine and preventive interventions in public health. Until now, the literature about the theoretical underpinnings of illness causation research has been scarce and fragmented, and lacking a convenient summary. This interdisciplinary book provides a convenient and accessible distillation of the current status of research into this developing field, and adds a personal flavor to the discussion by proposing the etiological stance as a comprehensive approach to identify modifiable causes of illness.

Key Features

• Provides a synthesis of the epidemiological and philosophical concepts in this growing research area

• Gives an accessible overview of current methods in biomedical causal metaphysics ̶ what is a cause of illness? ̶ and epistemology ̶ how do we identify it?

• Proposes a novel approach that integrates modern epidemiological methodology and recent theories from philosophy of science

Written for postgraduate students and researchers in the health and biomedical sciences, including those undertaking courses in the philosophy of medicine/science, public and global health, introduction to epidemiology, research methods, and advanced reasoning, the content will also be of interest to practicing public health workers, biomedical scientists, and physicians.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olaf Dammann is Professor and Vice Chair of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; as well as a Professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Cover image: Mask used by "Eskimo" shaman in causation of illness.

Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

This book offers a comprehensive account of how uncertainty is tackled in medicine and the health sciences. Olaf Dammann explores recent accounts of medicine as ineffective and suggests that the impression that medicine does not achieve its goal is, at least in part, due to the aleatoric (natural) uncertainty of biomedical processes and the subsequent epistemic (cognitive) uncertainty of those who desire solid information about such processes. Dammann shows how concepts like inference, explanation, and causometry help mitigate this disconnect. He points toward the possibility that some of the statistically rigid and formalized approaches (such as the randomized controlled trial as the gold standard for the justification of medical interventions) might better be replaced by approaches that emphasize the coherence of evidence and the people’s needs for helpful health interventions (auxiliarianism).    

Marketing text: This book covers the overlap between informatics, computer science, philosophy of causation, and causal inference in epidemiology and population health research. Key concepts covered include how data are generated and interpreted, and how and why concepts in health informatics and the philosophy of science should be integrated in a systems-thinking approach. Furthermore, a formal epistemology for the health sciences and public health is suggested.

Causation in Population Health Informatics and Data Science provides a detailed guide of the latest thinking on causal inference in population health informatics. It is therefore a critical resource for all informaticians and epidemiologists interested in the potential benefits of utilising a systems-based approach to causal inference in health informatics.