ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the basics about models in social epidemiology in order to develop some of the tools that are useful in their critical appraisal. It focuses on the review of different models of social epidemiology in order to illustrate the way in which such models can be critically engaged and applied in the context of Indigenous health. Within the social sciences, there are a number of distinct theoretical accounts of the organisation (structure) and dynamics (processes) of global social phenomena. One of the benefits of applying G. Turrell and C. Mathers’s model to our thinking about the social determinants of Indigenous health is the focus it provides on macro-level institutional structures, particularly government and policy-making processes. Finally, the chapter considers some of the elements of a social health model that may assist in the development of holistic models that account for the multiple and complex relationships between social processes and health outcomes for Indigenous people.
