Why Othering should be considered in research on health inequalities: Theoretical perspectives and research needs

Nurcan Akbulut; Oliver Razum

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101286

Why Othering should be considered in research on health inequalities: Theoretical perspectives and research needs

SSM Popul Health. 2022 Nov 5:20:101286. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101286. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Nurcan Akbulut¹, Oliver Razum¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.

Abstract

•Othering is relevant to public health as an analytical lens that helps to understand the link between minority status and health inequalities.•To investigate health inequalities caused by Othering, it is necessary to include the semantic-symbolic construction of Others.•Othering operates as a discursive practice and occurs on multiple levels.•Research on Othering requires consideration of intersectionality and power structures derived from socially and historically grown hierarchies.•Interventions against Othering require deconstructive concepts - this means deconstructing the institutionalized and embodied normality of the We.