A Critical Lens on Health: Key Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and Its Benefits to Anti-Racism in Population Public Health Research

Abstract

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary research methodology used to analyze discourse as a form of “social practice”, exploring how meaning is socially constructed. In addition, the methodology draws from the field of critical studies, in which research places deliberate focus on the social and political forces that produce social phenomena as a means to challenge and change societal practices. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the benefits of CDA to population public health (PPH) research. We will do this by providing a brief overview of CDA and its history and purpose in research and then identifying and discussing three crucial principles that we argue are crucial to successful CDA research: (1) CDA research should contribute to social justice; (2) CDA is strongly based in theory; and (3) CDA draws from constructivist epistemology. A key benefit that CDA brings to PPH research is its critical lens, which aligns with the fundamental goals of PPH including addressing the social determinants of health and reducing health inequities. Our analysis demonstrates the need for researchers in population public health to strongly consider critical discourse analysis as an approach to understanding the social determinants of health and eliminating health inequities in order to achieve health and wellness for all.