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Patricia Buffler Gives Opening Address at North American Congress of Epidemiology
 

Focus Is On The Responsibility of  Epidemiologists To Be Skeptical Of Findings And Engaged With The Public

“There can be quantum leaps in the wrong direction,” warned The University of California Berkeley’s Patricia Buffler in giving her opening address at the recent 3rd North American Congress of Epidemiology in Montreal. Highlighting the importance of skepticism about scientific claims, she entitled her talk “Science, Skepticism, and Society: The Role of Epidemiology”.

The overall theme of Buffler’s address was on the important role which epidemiologists should play in helping the public to understand the science behind personal and community health decision-making.  In her view, we live in an era when science and technology are a large part of the fabric of modern society. In such a world, there is a need, according to Buffler, for the general public to have a basic understanding of science and statistics because there can be serious public health consequences for failure to inform AND engage the public. She asserted it is the role of epidemiologists to fill gaps in public understanding.

Main Concern

But Buffler’s main concern appeared to be not so much about increasing public understanding of valid public health findings, as important as these may be, but about clearing up public misunderstandings about reported, but questionable associations.

She stated that while there have been major changes in epidemiology over the past 15 years with new models having been developed, proper reporting and interpretation of data have not changed. Reiterating that there can be quantum leaps in the wrong direction, she called epidemiology the “science of causation” and quoted Popper to remind listeners that theory which is not refutable is not science. She urged epidemiologists to adopt a “questioning attitude” in regard to many claims that are taken for granted.

More Evidence

Buttressing her case, Buffler cited John Ioannidis’s 2005 paper “Why most Published Research Findings are False,” to remind the audience that most findings will be refuted. She urged epidemiologists to state their question clearly, be careful of their models and methods, and to state their assumptions. “Focus on the question and not on the models,” she urged. The work of epidemiology is related to unanswered questions, but also to unquestioned answers!

Autism and Vaccine Controversy

Buffler used a considerable portion of her time to illustrate the importance of skepticism  by recounting the negative health consequences that have attended the autism and vaccines controversy. She described how the putative association between vaccine and autism has now been shown by an investigative reporter in the UK to be bogus research, and said the public health impact has been enormous, citing deaths from measles in the UK and from pertussis in California. Buffler minced no words in stating “it is the responsibility of epidemiologists when data need to be questioned.”

Quotes in Conclusion

She approached the end of her talk by quoting Michael Gibbons in Nature in 1999. “…reliable knowledge can only become socially robust if society sees the process of knowledge production as transparent and participative…The old image of science working anonymously will no longer suffice…Rather a reciprocity is required in which not only does the public understand how science works, but , equally science understands how its publics work.”

And finally, she ended her presentation by quoting John Maxwell, an American author and speaker on leadership, “People never care how much you know---until they know how much you care.”

 

 

A printable PDF version of this article is available for download by clicking the icon to the left.

 
 






 

 

 

"'The work of epidemiology is related to unanswered questions, but also to unquestioned  answers..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 
 
 
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