Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10471889 | Social Science & Medicine | 2010 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Based on a case-study of the introduction of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in the Netherlands two decades ago, using documentary and archival sources, this paper examines the way evidence is used in policymaking. Starting from the question of 'what counts as evidence', two central claims are developed. First, the decision to introduce MMR was not one but a series of decisions going back at least seven years, over the course of which the significance attached to various forms of evidence changed. Second, results of international studies were coming gradually to be of greater significance than evidence gathered from within the Netherlands itself. These developments had, and continue to have, major consequences for national scientific competences.
Related Topics
Health Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Public Health and Health Policy
Authors
Stuart Blume, Janneke Tump,