Editorial

Abstract

This issue of Health Sociology Review is loosely based on the theme of southern theory and arose from the receipt of a pool of papers from Africa, the subcontinent and about indigenous health issues. Connell (2011a) coined the term southern theory to distinguish knowledges developed in the global periphery from the knowledges from the metropole of Western Europe and Northern America. Connell contends that scientific and social scientific thought is dominated by the metropole and that this knowledge is presented as universal, ignoring the experiences of the majority in favour of a privileged minority. For Connell (2007) knowledge needs to be situated within the context in which it is developed. While sociology has embraced the impact of gender, class, race and generation upon ways of knowing there is less evidence of reflexivity with regards to location. This problematic for three reasons: theory based on the experiences of the metropole may not be applicable to the periphery; secondly, it risks ignoring alternate cultural experiences and indigenous knowledges; and thirdly, it fails to recognise the impact of the power of the metropole and colonisation upon ways of knowing and understanding the world (Connell, 2011a, 2011b). The challenge becomes therefore, to move beyond metropolitan thinking through incorporation of marginalised voices and deconstructing theoretical concepts to demonstrate the power relations evident in their creation (Connell, 2011a). This issue of Health Sociology Review attempts, in a small way, to do this.The majority of papers for this issue fall into two general themes: the first dealing with the relationship between poverty and health and the second indigenous health issues. The issue opens with a paper by Callander, Schofield, and Shrestha (2012) which outlines the development of the Freedom Poverty Measure designed to measure poverty within Australia. Drawing upon Sen (1999) they propose a poverty measure which incorporates health and education as well as income, on the understanding that poor health and lack of education place the individual at risk of economic poverty but also limit freedom through limiting a capacity to participate in activities of choice.Two papers address the relationship between poverty and health in Africa. Obeng-Odoom (2012) explores health care delivery in sub- Saharan Africa through the lens of neo-liberalism. He argues for declining state responsibility for funding and providing health services and increasing reliance upon private service providers and NGOs. This approach risks fragmentation of service delivery, may undermine local health care service providers and is driven by the interests of funding organisations. He argues instead, for policy approaches which address poverty and inequity as a means of improving the health of the poorest members of society. A similar argument is made by Adjei and Buor (2012). They explore the relationship between poverty and health status in rural Ghana through identifying the statistical relationship between nutritional and hygiene status; housing; utilisation of healthcare services; health education; and lifestyle factors and five common health conditions. They found that all social factors impact on health with housing, sanitation (hygiene) and nutrition figuring most prominently.Four papers address indigenous health issues, placing primacy on indigenous ways of knowing. Priest, Mackean, Davis, Briggs, and Waters (2012a) report findings from a study designed to uncover Aboriginal perspectives on what contributes to the health and well-being of Aboriginal children. Twenty-five interviews were conducted with Aboriginal care givers who identify factors which impact on child health and well-being. Among the issues discussed are the impact of forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families (the Stolen Generations) on capacity to form healthy family connections; the experience of widespread racism; and living across two cultures. …