Drug-Induced Smon and Drug-Induced Aids as a Shift in Perspective from Social Epidemiology to Health Sociology

Abstract

The health sociology research in the drug-induced SMON study contributed greatly to broadening the perspective of conventional social epidemiology by shedding light on social structures such as pharmaceutical administration, the actions of pharmaceutical companies, the awareness and behavior of medical and pharmaceutical professionals, the monopoly of information, and power. Regarding the damage suffered by the victims, it also broadened the perspective of conventional social epidemiology by going beyond the scope of health damage to elucidate the structure of the damage. Meanwhile, in the drug-induced HIV research project, a participatory approach was applied, and research was conducted that focused on patients and their families as actors trying to overcome the damage, rather than simply positioning them as victims of drug-induced damage. This brought about a unique perspective in health sociology that was not bound by the framework of conventional social epidemiology research, and was a turning point in research.