Mini-publics in dental public health policymaking

Gary Lowery

Mini-publics in dental public health policymaking

Authors: Gary Lowery
doi: 10.1922/CDH_00077Lowery04

Abstract

What are mini-publics and under what circumstances could they be applied to public health dentistry? This question is explored with reference to water fluoridation in England, a policy intervention characterised by a visceral politics that has embedded a systemic preference for non-decision-making. Mini-publics can nevertheless inform decision-making by inviting a representative sample of the affected citizenry to consider the available evidence and come to a set of conclusions and/or recommendations that if all parties cannot agree, none can reasonably object. In doing so, mini-publics have the potential to break the policy deadlock by adding an additional layer of legitimacy to the decision-making process, albeit this is dependent upon decision-makers granting value to their findings. Keywords: dental public health, deliberative democracy, water fluoridation, cognitive ideas, normative ideas, mini-publics

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