Recent years have witnessed growing interest in the use of racial and ethnic categories in public health. However, this interest has not been accompanied by a more in-depth discussion of the theoretical and practical problems related to the utilization of the "race" variable. Although the biological concept of "race" still holds a strong appeal among health researchers, various studies have proposed other forms of defining the concept and applying it to health research. This article seeks to outline the analytical implications of the different definitions and uses of "race" and ethnicity in health research, besides identifying its limits and potentials.
Race; ethnicity; health research