Acts of public defiance towards biomedical public health policies have occurred throughout modern history, from resistance to early smallpox vaccines in nineteenth century Britain and America to more recent intransigence to efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Central and West Africa. Thinking Through Resistance examines a diverse range of case studies of opposition to biomedical public health policies - from resistance to HPV vaccinations in Texas to disputes over HIV prevention research in Malawi - to assess the root causes of opposition. It is argued that far from being based on ignorance, resistance instead serves as a form of advocacy, calling for improvements in basic health care delivery alongside expanded access to infrastructure and basic social services. Building on this argument, the book sets out an alternative to the current technocratic approach of global public health, extending beyond greater distribution of medical technologies to build on the perspectives of a political economy of health.
With contributions from medical anthropologists, sociologists and public health experts, Thinking Through Resistance will make important reading for researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of public health, medical anthropology and public policy.