Re-reading the IPSS research record

Charmaine C. Williams

Social Science & Medicine, 2003, vol. 56, issue 3, 501-515

Abstract: The International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia has had a major influence on mental health and research practice since its inception in the 1960s. It is most famous for demonstrating superior outcomes for people living with schizophrenia in developing countries over those living with schizophrenia in developed countries. Like other international research initiatives, it has been shaped by social, political and economic circumstances that contribute to positive and negative outcomes for participating nations. This paper evaluates the contribution of the pilot study by analyzing the discourse surrounding the dissemination of its results. The discussion of long-term outcomes across cultures is used to scrutinize the process of long-term research collaborations across nations. Discourse analysis of the research records indicates that, in various ways, the discourse was constructed to preserve an image of Western superiority and Third World inferiority. As the international research context shifts in psychiatry, it is hoped that inequitable practices that affect this and other studies will be challenged to benefit knowledge-building and mental health care across the world.

Keywords: International; research; Schizophrenia; IPSS; Postcolonialism; Discourse; analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(02)00051-5
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:56:y:2003:i:3:p:501-515

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().