Relocating gender and morbidity: examining men's and women's health in contemporary Western societies. Introduction to Special Issue on Gender and Health.
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Female↗
Biomedical subjects
E Annandale
Publications and source records attributed to E Annandale.
Accounts of disagreements with doctors.
Patients' perceptions of health care, particularly as they relate to disagreements of various kinds, have emerged as a particular topic of interest to practitioners and social scientists since the mid-1980s in Great Britain. Most research, however, has concentrated upon disagreements that have turned into formal complaints to health authorities and community and hospital trusts. This means that the focus has been upon the strong end of disagreements where action has already been taken to redress a grievance. This is likely to leave many aspects of the relationship between felt disagreement and disagreement action unexplored. Why, for example, when they feel dissatisfied with the health care that they, or a relative has received, do some people take action and others not? And, if they do take action, what is involved? Are there any associations between the kind of action taken--for example, doing nothing, verbally challenging the doctor, seeking a second opinion, or discontinuing treatment and the nature of the felt disagreement, the kind of health problem being treated, or the social characteristics of the patient concerned? In this paper we explore some of these questions through data collected as part of a community sample of individuals in the West of Scotland.
Adolescent↗
Medical students' perceptions of medical malpractice.
Despite increasing interest in medical malpractice in the UK, there is very little empirical research on doctors' own concerns. This paper explores first and fifth year medical students' knowledge about malpractice, their attitudes toward litigation and its perceived significance for their future practice.
Adolescent↗
Professional defenses: medical students' perceptions of medical malpractice.
Despite the pronounced interest in "challenges to professional dominance" in Britain, medical malpractice has been subject to little empirical attention. There has been a flurry of policy activity within the National Health Service over the last six or so years and a steady stream of commentary from professional bodies, yet we know very little about the views of various medical practitioners who occupy different positions in the professional hierarchy. This article explores the views of (first and fifth year) medical students and considers the extent to which they cohere with the public discourse of medical elites. The author suggests that while individual practice is the focal concern for medical students who seem acutely aware and concerned about litigation, elites construct malpractice as a macro economic-legal problem, strategically severing the association between individual practice and the experience of a malpractice suit.
Adolescent↗
Social class and health in youth: findings from the west of Scotland twenty-07 study.
The assumption that social class inequalities in health are a persistent feature of the life-course has been questioned in a recent issue of this journal. On the evidence of mortality and chronic illness, the pattern in youth in Britain appears to be characterised by the lack of class differentials, a striking contrast to early adulthood where the familiar picture of health inequalities is observed. The possibility that this finding of relative equality in youth is a consequence of the limited, and potentially inappropriate, health indicators used has now been tested on a cohort of 15-year-olds in the West of Scotland. On a range of indicators, from subjective assessments to objective physical measures, very little evidence of class variation in health is found. The possible transience of the youth pattern is, however, indicated by findings from a cohort of 35-year-olds in the same study, among whom marked class gradients in health are apparent. Possible explanations for the transformation of a pattern of relative class equality in youth into one of inequalities in adulthood are discussed.
Adolescent↗
Predicting contraceptive method usage among women in west Scotland.
Users of the six major methods of contraception are compared across a broad range of variables using data from a community sample. Differences between the groups were apparent for a range of socioeconomic and reproductive variables, and current users of the various methods also differed in their past use of contraception. Users of barrier methods fared particularly well. Few differences were observed for current health status or for the sociocultural variables examined, although users of natural methods differed from all others in their religious affiliation and commitment. Discriminant analysis showed that the most predictive variables distinguishing women who had opted for permanent methods of contraception (female sterilization and vasectomy) were the woman's stated reason for using her current method and her past contraceptive patterns; the inclusion of social, health and reproductive indicators did little to improve the prediction. It is argued that heightened expectations for contraceptive efficacy in the face of increasing concerns about long-term health consequences have contributed to the increased use of permanent methods.
Adult↗
Proletarianization or restratification of the medical profession? The case of obstetrics.
Professional dominance, autonomy, and control have been consistently emphasized in theories of the medical profession. Recently, however, the professional hegemony that physicians have enjoyed is increasingly being questioned in the light of profound changes that are taking place in the organization of health care in the United States. Debates about the implications of the power of medicine and the means by which it is maintained are being replaced by attempts to understand professional decline. Proletarianization (McKinlay and colleagues) and restratification theory (Freidson) are two prominent and competing predictions for the future of the medical profession. Taking obstetrics as a critical case, this article considers the relative ability of these theories to elucidate the changing organization of maternity care in one state and presents a case study of patient care in one hospital. It suggests a disjuncture between obstetricians' inability to protect their interests as a corporate body and their relative ability to control the organization of everyday medical work. It is concluded that more theoretical clarity is needed on professional behaviors at the macro and micro levels.
Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
Sampling in non-experimental research.
The importance of choosing an appropriate sample in non-experimental research studies is undisputed, but it is an area which causes problems for researchers from many fields, including nursing. The authors illustrate the decisions which must be made when selecting a sample by considering a hypothetical study of the socialisation of student nurses.
Humans↗