This article offers a review and exploration of the parameters of the risk society. The primary focus is on the theoretical works of German sociologist Ulrich Beck and British sociologist Anthony Giddens, and in particular, their claim that we are living in a second, reflexive age of modernity, or risk society, characterized by an omnipresence of low probability-high consequence technological risks. The article concludes that the theorists of the risk society succeed in their goal of raising important questions for reflection and for future research. The risk society thesis succeeds in describing the emergence of a risk ethos, the development of a collective risk identity and the formation of communities united by an increasing vulnerability to risk. It draws attention to how the essentialist nature of risk has been transformed and how the origins and impact of risk have been reassessed. The theory points to a reconfiguration in the way risk is identified, evaluated, communicated and governed. The risk society expands the traditional concept of risk understood as the sum of the probability of an adverse event and the magnitude of the consequences, to include the subjective perception of risk, the intersubjective communication of risk and the social experience of living in a risk environment. Finally, the theorists of the risk society succeed in iterating that it is not just health and the environment that are at risk, but in addition, the fundamental sociopolitical values of liberty, equality, justice, rights and democracy are now at risk.
Background: The practice of waterbirth is increasing worldwide and has been a feature of maternity services in the United Kingdom for over twenty years. The body of literature surrounding the practice focusses on maternal and neonatal outcomes comparing birth in and out of water.Aim: To undertake a review of qualitative studies exploring women's experiences of waterbirth. This understanding is pertinent when supporting women who birth in water.Methods: A literature search was conducted in databases British Nursing Index, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Maternity and Infant Care, Medline, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts and Web of Science, using search terms waterbirth, labour/labor, childbirth, women, mothers, experience, perception and maternity care. Five primary research articles published between 2003 and 2018 which explored the views of women who had birthed in water were selected for inclusion. Using meta-ethnography, qualitative research studies were analysed and synthesised using the method of 'reciprocal translational analysis' identifying themes relating to women's experiences of birthing in water.Findings: Four themes were identified: women's knowledge of waterbirth; women's perception of physiological birth; water, autonomy and control; and waterbirth: easing the transition.Discussion and conclusion: Despite the paucity of qualitative studies exploring women's experiences of waterbirth, meta-synthesis of those that do exist suggested women identify positively with the choice. The experience of birthing in water appears to enhance a woman's sense of autonomy and control during childbirth suggesting waterbirth can be an empowering experience for women who choose it.
With over 500 prenatal genetic tests currently available, and many more entering the consumer medical market each year, prenatal genetic testing is rapidly becoming routine practice in the medical management of pregnancy. The greatest benefits gained from prenatal genetic testing are the prevention of the birth of a child with a chronic genetic disease and offering prospective parents a degree of liberation from reproductive risk. These benefits are, however, tempered by a series of complex ethical, legal and social risks, which must be identified and managed if the benefits are to be maximized. The aim of this paper is to investigate how a group of experts in human genetics perceive the origin and impact of these risks. Based on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with experts in the new genetics, seven risks are identified. These include: the risk of state intervention into private lives and the consequent loss in reproductive freedom; the risk of coercive testing emerging from medical paternalism; the risk of ambivalence in knowing whether prenatal testing should be offered for all conditions, or only for severe medical conditions; the risk prenatal testing will amplify existing racial, sexual and disability discrimination; the risk prospective parents will develop inflated expectations of genetic perfectionism; the risk of inequalities in access to genetics counselling and testing services; and the risk of fostering an increase in wrongful birth and wrongful life litigation. The findings of this study have implications for enhancing genetic risk-management policies and for improving the delivery of genetic testing services. They also have implications for advancing our understanding of the relationship between genetic health, genetic risk and society.
Cancer is a leading cause of mortality and one of the most feared diseases in modern society. A combination of early detection, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment provides the best defence against cancer morbidity; therefore, promoting cancer awareness and encouraging cancer screening is a priority in any comprehensive cancer control policy. Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the UK and in an effort to reduce the high incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates, the National Health Service (NHS) has introduced the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NHS BCSP). For the NHS BCSP to succeed in its goal of reducing the incidence and prevalence rates for colorectal cancer, individuals need to be persuaded to complete the test. Since it was first introduced in 2007, however, participation rates have been low. In an effort to understand why participation rates remain low, this article reports on the findings of a series of focus groups conducted in the East Midlands of England. These focus groups were designed to explore the factors that influence an individual's decision to participate in cancer screening. The findings revealed eight factors that affected participation in the NHS BCSP: (i) the association of screening with entry into old age; (ii) prior experience with health systems; (iii) the support of a significant other; (iv) individual perceptions of risk (and benefit); (v) fear of becoming a cancer patient after the screening test; (vi) lack of disease symptoms; (vii) embarrassment associated with completing the test and (viii) messages that adopt a paternalistic ethos. Overall, our results suggest that more people may participate in the screening programme if it was more sensitive to these psychosocial and contextual factors that shape an individual's decision to be tested.
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