RACE - CONSTRUCTS AND DILEMMAS

The concept of race,from a scientific perspective, has such poor const ruct validity and reliability that there is a growing consensus that t he term should be abandoned. Ii is the premise of this article that th e concept of race is not only a scientific construct but also a social construct and a policy construct it is argued through an ethical anal ysis that the premature abandonment of the scientific construct of rac e, especially in epidemiology, clinical field trial studies, and healt h care delivery monitoring, may create greater harm than good. Recomme ndations are offered for the orderly dismantling of the social constru ction of race, which this article proposes should come first, through both biological and policy constructs.