Medicalisation

What is medicalisation?

Process by which non medical problems become defined and treated as medical problems - often requiring medical treatment

What is the deployment of sexuality?

It is the production of scientific-medical knowledge about sex and sexual behaviour

• created language - eg: homosexual, hysterical women

• allowed control of physiological, medical and scientific debate

How did medicalisation of sexuality provide the basis for sexuality to be cured?

Allowed for scientific approaches - delineate deviant from normal

What is a common theme in medicalisation literature?

power and control - also tends to be highly critical of medical institutions

How does Conrad describe medicalisation?

It is a way of defining what is normal and what is deviant and therefore what mandates an intervention

• occurred because of pharmaceutical progress

What are the 3 levels medical professionals can cause iatrogenic harm?

• Clinical - by unnecessary or harmful treatments

• Social - overtime reliance has increased on HC services

• Cultural/structural - medicine undermines peoples capacity to cope with life and normal things

What is zola’s argument for why medicalisation has occurred?

Rapid expansion of medicine (due to external factors) has led to science overtaking religion as the ultimate source of truth

What are some examples of medicalisation in the NHS?

• At birth - disruption of natural processes

• At death - prolonging life for life’s sake?

What are possible consequences of medicalisation?

• over diagnosis

• unnecessary interventions (iatrogenic harm?)

• polypharmacy

• Can overshadow social issues

• Undermines community and non-clinical interventions

What might be seen as positives of medicalisation?

• might be the 1st step to life changing treatment

• Diagnosis/label may remove feelings of blame form individual

• might release individuals from social expectations