What the study found
Health justice cannot be realized through ethical commitment or knowledge production alone, according to the commentary. The authors argue that public health is a heterogeneous and politically embedded field shaped by governance arrangements, institutional power, and ideological struggle.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors say health justice should be understood as a contested political project rather than a technocratic solution or moral aspiration. They conclude that public health must be viewed as more than a science of prevention, because knowledge, institutions, and civic action are all part of ongoing struggles over whose lives are protected, valued, and made possible.
What the researchers tested
This is a commentary that draws on theories of justice from Rawls, Nussbaum, and Holland. The paper uses illustrative cases in maternal health, infectious disease, environmental risk, and digital governance to examine how public health responds to inequality and structural conditions.
What worked and what didn't
The analysis suggests that dominant distributive approaches to justice are ethically compelling but limited when separated from historical, environmental, and political contexts. It also suggests that public health can identify inequality while remaining constrained in its ability to confront the structures that reproduce it.
What to keep in mind
The abstract presents this as a commentary, not a report of a new empirical study. The available summary does not describe a single intervention or provide quantitative outcomes, and it does not give detailed limitations beyond the scope of the illustrative cases.
Key points
- The commentary argues that health justice cannot be achieved through ethical commitment or knowledge production alone.
- Public health is described as a politically embedded field shaped by governance, institutional power, and ideological struggle.
- The paper draws on justice theories from Rawls, Nussbaum, and Holland.
- Illustrative cases include maternal health, infectious disease, environmental risk, and digital governance.
- The authors highlight epistemic justice and say marginalized communities are systematically excluded from knowledge production.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Health justice is shaped by power, institutions, and governance
- Authors:
- Gilbert Delos Santos Bernardino, Ferdinand C. Tercero, Jonathan H. Ilagan, Julie E. Padilla, Sonia C. Olnanigon, Reuben Victor M. Laguitan, Eliseo Lucero-Prisno
- Institutions:
- University of the Cordilleras, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Public Health
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-29
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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