Why do the O'Sheas consult so often? An exploration of complex family illness behaviour

Christopher Dowrick

Social Science & Medicine, 1992, vol. 34, issue 5, 491-497

Abstract: Complex illness behaviour can be seen as a product of dysfunctional communication between doctors and patients. A methodology to understand such behaviour is described: it uses case record analysis and meetings with patients and health teams to create a set of family trees and graphs of consultation patterns; these are the basis on which to generate and test hypotheses. This model is used to explore the consultation rates of a family between the 1940s and 1988. Illness behaviours increased rapidly during the 1980s at a time when both the family and their general practitioners were undergoing rapid changes and losing significant members. Mutually unacknowledged depression may have been a key factor. Strategies for change are suggested.

Keywords: illness; behaviour; dysfunctional; communication; depression; general; practice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1992
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