Disagreement among experts about public health decision making
Is it polarisation and does it matter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21879242 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Williams (0000-0002-0142-0299, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), Jane H Williams (University of Wollongong), Claire Hooker (0000-0003-2347-6602, The University of Sydney), Gwendolyn L Gilbert (0000-0001-7490-6727, The University of Sydney), Su-Yin Hor (0000-0002-6498-9722, University of Technology Sydney), Suyin Hor (University of Technology Sydney), Chris Degeling (0000-0003-4279-3443, University of Wollongong) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e011182 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | BMJ Global Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-011182 |
| PMID | 36948532 |
| OpenAlex | W4353062078 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 33 |
It is common for aspects of the COVID-19 response—and other public health initiatives before it—to be described as polarised. Public health decisions emerge from an interplay of facts, norms and preferred courses of action. What counts as ‘evidence’ is diverse and contestable, and disagreements over how it should be interpreted are often the product of differing choices between competing values. We propose a definition of polarisation for the context of public health expertise that acknowledges and accounts for epistemic and social values as part of evidence generation and its application to public health practice. The ‘polarised’ label should be used judiciously because the descriptor risks generating or exacerbating the problem by oversimplifying complex issues and positions and creating groups that seem dichotomous. ‘Independence’ as a one-size-fits-all answer to expert polarisation is insufficient; this solution is premised on a scientistic account of the role of evidence in decision making and does not make room for the value difference that is at the heart of both polarisation and evidence-based decision making
Public health · Computer Science · Healthcare cost, quality, practices · Mathematics · Medicine · Psychology · Public Health Policies and Education · Social Psychology · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
Polarization
Vaccine Hesitancy, Acceptance, and Anti-Vaccination
Politicians polarize and experts depolarize public support for Covid-19 management policies across countries
Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts
Health promotion. What is it? What will it become?
Public perceptions of scientific advice
Trump, Covid-19, and the War on Expertise
II Disputes between experts
The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States
Culture Wars and Opinion Polarization
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |