https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494817744987 © Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1403494817744987 journals.sagepub.com/home/sjp Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2018; 46: 53–56 Introduction The March 2017 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health announced its new editorial policy, reit- erating its focus on social injustice as a driver of health inequalities [1]. This announcement was accompa- nied by three papers on socioeconomic inequalities in health, including a discussion calling for a stronger integration of sociological theory in empirical research on this topic [2]. In this paper, Øversveen et al. voiced their dis- comfort with an “inconsistent use of measures of social status”, the “little reflection on how the use of different measures may affect findings”, and how “theoretically deviating concepts […] are used overlapping and interchangeably” [2]. They argued that these widespread scientific practices stem in part from a continued reliance on “materialist” and “positivist” definitions of socioeconomic status (SES) (i.e., SES is static and independent of other actors, causality is linear and predictable), which do not appropriately capture the complex relation- ship between the resources and mechanisms that produce health inequalities over time. To better conceptualize this complexity, they propose a closer integration of theories into empirical research from sociologists such as Anthony Giddens and Bruno Latour [3–6]. Rethinking the relationship between socioeconomic status and health: Challenging how socioeconomic status is currently used in health inequality research THIERRY GAGNé 1,2 & ADRIAN E. GHENADENIK 1–3 1 École de Santé Publique de l’Université de Montréal, Canada, 2 Institut de Recherche en Santé Publique de l’Université de Montréal, Canada, and 3 Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Canada Abstract Aims: The Scandinavian Journal of Public Health recently reiterated the importance of addressing social justice and health inequalities in its new editorial policy announcement. One of the related challenges highlighted in that issue was the limited use of sociological theories able to inform the complexity linking the resources and mechanisms captured by the concept of socioeconomic status. This debate article argues that part of the problem lies in the often unchallenged reliance on a generic conceptualization and operationalization of socioeconomic status. These practices hinder researchers’ capacity to examine in finer detail how resources and circumstances promote the unequal distribution of health through distinct yet intertwined pathways. As a potential way forward, this commentary explores how research practices can be challenged through concrete publication policies and guidelines. To this end, we propose a set of recommendations as a tool to strengthen the study of socioeconomic status and, ultimately, the quality of health inequality research. Conclusions: Authors, reviewers, and editors can become champions of change toward the implementation of sociological theory by holding higher standards regarding the conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and interpretation of results in health inequality research. Key Words: Socioeconomic status, health inequality research, publishing, research practices Correspondence: Thierry Gagné, Département de médecine sociale et préventive, école de Santé Publique de l’Université de Montréal, 7101 av du Parc, office 3139, Montréal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada. E-mail: thierry.gagne@umontreal.ca Date received 18 April 2017; reviewed 2 October 2017; accepted 27 October 2017 744987SJP 0 0 10.1177/1403494817744987Socioeconomic status in health inequality researchT. Gagné and A. Ghenadenik research-article 2017 DEBATE ARTICLE Special Issue: Social Inequalities in Health and their Determinants