01721nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001653001700042653003000059100001600089700001300105700001400118700001100132700001500143245007800158856005700236300001200293490000600305520121600311       2018                            d10aAnthropology10aPublic health emergencies1 aStellmach D1 aBeshar I1 aBedford J1 aCros P1 aStringer B00aAnthropology in public health emergencies: what is anthropology good for?  uhttp://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/3/2/e000534.full.pdf  ae0005340 v33 a<p>Recent outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (2013–2016) and Zika virus (2015–2016) bring renewed recognition of the need to understand social pathways of disease transmission and barriers to care. Social scientists, anthropologists in particular, have been recognised as important players in disease outbreak response because of their ability to assess social, economic and political factors in local contexts. However, in emergency public health response, as with any interdisciplinary setting, different professions may disagree over methods, ethics and the nature of evidence itself. A disease outbreak is no place to begin to negotiate disciplinary differences. Given increasing demand for anthropologists to work alongside epidemiologists, clinicians and public health professionals in health crises, this paper gives a basic introduction to anthropological methods and seeks to bridge the gap in disciplinary expectations within emergencies. It asks: ‘What can anthropologists do in a public health crisis and how do they do it?’ It argues for an interdisciplinary conception of emergency and the recognition that social, psychological and institutional factors influence all aspects of care.</p>