The normativist-naturalist puzzle: Functions and assumptions of health assessment tools

Thor Hennelund Nielsen, Lasse Nielsen*, Søren Harnow Klausen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Background: While there is no shortage in discussions of health assessment tools, little is known about health professionals’ experience of their practical uses. However, these tools rely on assumptions that have significant impacts on the practice of health assessment.
Aim: In this study, we explore health professionals’ experiences with health assessment tools, i.e., how they define, use, and understand these tools, and whether they take them to measure health and wellbeing.
Method: We combine a qualitative, interview-based study of the uses and understandings of health assessment tools among Danish health professionals with a philosophical analysis of these applications and perceptions.
Findings: Our study shows that contrary assumptions are involved in the use of the tools, to the extent that one can speak of a normativist-naturalist puzzle: health professionals generally apply a normativist conception of health, find health assessment useful and valuable for their clinical practice, but believe that what the tools measure is basically not health proper but some proximal entity of a more naturalist kind.
Conclusion: This result demonstrates the complexity of health assessment tools and suggests that they are used with care to ensure both that particular tools are used for the kinds of tasks they are most apt for, and that they are put to use in awareness of their limitations.
Original languageEnglish
JournalHealth
ISSN1363-4593
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

Keywords

  • health assessment tools
  • naturalism
  • normativism
  • philosophical assumptions
  • qualitative research

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