LaVeist T A
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Health Serv Res. 1994 Apr;29(1):1-16.
This article addresses the definitional and methodological problems associated with the most common uses of race as a variable in health research.
Although often used in health services research, race is a poorly understood concept because it lacks conceptual clarity. Moreover, the measurement problems with race have not yet been adequately addressed. As a result, many quantitative models that attempt to explain race differences are inadequate to inform health or social policy.
Researchers should treat the race variable with the same degree of caution and skepticism with which it treats any other variable.
本文探讨了在健康研究中，将种族作为变量的最常见用法所涉及的定义和方法问题。
尽管种族在卫生服务研究中经常被使用，但由于缺乏概念清晰度，它是一个理解不深的概念。此外，种族的测量问题尚未得到充分解决。因此，许多试图解释种族差异的定量模型不足以指导卫生或社会政策。
研究人员对待种族变量应像对待任何其他变量一样谨慎和持怀疑态度。
