Integrating methods in the science of family health: New directions from an Institute of Medicine Workshop report

摘要

FAMILIES IN THE UNITED States and worldwide are undergoing rapid changes owing to large-scale social and economic trends. Demographic shifts, economic upheavals, changing societal norms and values, and both immigration across national borders and migration within nations are creating new and altered structures, processes, and relationships within families. In response to these changes in the contexts and nature of the family, the science of research on families is on the brink of a new and exciting integration of methods, disciplines, and epistemo-logical perspectives. The methods used to study families are becoming more wide ranging, and both senior and junior scientists are combining approaches from a variety of disciplines.