Contested Illnesses: Citizens, Science, and Health Social Movements

The politics and science of health and disease remain contested terrain among scientists, health practitioners, policy makers, industry, communities, and the public. Stakeholders in disputes about illnesses or conditions disagree over their fundamental causes as well as how they should be treated and prevented. This thought-provoking book crosses disciplinary boundaries by engaging with both public health policy and social science, asserting that science, activism, and policy are not separate issues and showing how the contribution of environmental factors in disease is often overlooked.

Phil Brown, founder of the Contested Illnesses Research Group at Brown University, is Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies. He is the author of No Safe Place: Toxic Waste, Leukemia, and Community Action (UC Press). Rachel Morello-Frosch is Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Stephen Zavestoski is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Environmental Studies Program at the University of San Francisco.