On the creation of 'problem' patients

Anne L. Wright and Wayne J. Morgan

Social Science & Medicine, 1990, vol. 30, issue 9, 951-959

Abstract: Recent debates regarding clinical transactions oppose a macro-level approach which emphasizes political, economic and institutional forces, and those analysts who consider patient perceptions regarding illness to be major influences on the outcome of clinical encounters. This paper utilizes both approaches to illuminate the interactions between medical personnel and 'problem patients'. The macro-level approach draws attention to the way power is negotiated and expressed in clinical interactions, and to medicalization that gives priority to medical values and condemns patients who do not act in accord with these values. The patient belief approach explores one of the major weapons in the struggle for control, the disease model of illness. Use of both approaches permits a better understanding of clinical medicine in these problematic interactions.

Keywords: problem; patients; macro-level; analyses; patient; beliefs; doctor/patient; interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1990
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(90)90142-F
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:30:y:1990:i:9:p:951-959

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 ().