Maller Cecily Jane
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Australia.
Sociol Health Illn. 2015 Jan;37(1):52-66. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12178.
The importance of recognising structure and agency in health research to move beyond methodological individualism is well documented. To progress incorporating social theory into health, researchers have used Giddens' and Bourdieu's conceptualisations of social practice to understand relationships between agency, structure and health. However, social practice theories have more to offer than has currently been capitalised upon. This article delves into contemporary theories of social practice as used in consumption and sustainability research to provide an alternative, and more contextualised means, of understanding and explaining human action in relation to health and wellbeing. Two key observations are made. Firstly, the latest formulations of social practice theory distinguish moments of practice performance from practices as persistent entities across time and space, allowing empirical application to explain practice histories and future trajectories. Secondly, they emphasise the materiality of everyday life, foregrounding things, technologies and other non-humans that cannot be ignored in a technologically dependent social world. In concluding, I argue the value of using contemporary social practice theories in health research is that they reframe the way in which health outcomes can be understood and could inform more effective interventions that move beyond attitudes, behaviour and choices.
在健康研究中认识到结构和能动性对于超越方法论个人主义的重要性已有充分记载。为了将社会理论纳入健康研究，研究人员利用吉登斯和布迪厄的社会实践概念来理解能动性、结构与健康之间的关系。然而，社会实践理论的作用远不止目前所利用的这些。本文深入探讨消费和可持续性研究中使用的当代社会实践理论，以提供一种理解和解释与健康及福祉相关的人类行为的替代方法，且这种方法更具情境性。得出了两个关键观察结果。首先，社会实践理论的最新表述将实践表现的时刻与作为跨越时间和空间的持久实体的实践区分开来，从而允许进行实证应用以解释实践历史和未来轨迹。其次，它们强调日常生活的物质性，突出在技术依赖的社会世界中不可忽视的事物、技术和其他非人类因素。在结论部分，我认为在健康研究中使用当代社会实践理论的价值在于，它们重新构建了理解健康结果的方式，并可为超越态度、行为和选择的更有效干预措施提供信息。
