Class and the clinic: the subject of medical pluralism and the transmission of inequality

Ram, Kalpana

doi:10.1080/19472491003590676

Cited by 7 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, menstruation prevents them from entering places which are considered as sacred or pure; hence, attaining menopause is considered as equivalent to being liberated. K. Ram (2011) reiterates from ethnographic work in Tamil Nadu that the display of comfort and authorisation of medical and non-medical practices during illness or child birth varies between different classes. All of these discussions suggest that there is a strong social dimension to menopause and the way people perceive illness and medical need.…”

Section: Physiology and Socio-cultural Dimensions Of Menopausementioning

confidence: 99%

Menopause: Midlife Experiences of Low Socio-economic Strata Women in Haryana

Singh¹,

Sivakami²

2014

Sociological Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Physiology and Socio-cultural Dimensions Of Menopausementioning

confidence: 99%

Menopause: Midlife Experiences of Low Socio-economic Strata Women in Haryana

Singh¹,

Sivakami²

2014

Sociological Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Moreover, people’s very understandings of cancer, as the clinicians’ accounts we analyse below illustrate, are rooted in socio-economic considerations, and underpinned by culturally meaningful ideologies and practices (Kakar, 1982; and also Badami, 2010; Kishore et al, 2008). Of course, India is not a homogenous entity, and questions of violence and sufferings are historically contingent (Pati and Harrison, 2006), and vary across class, caste, gender and age (Ram, 2010). Nevertheless, the themes and issues that the clinicians raised in the course of our research point to the saliency of certain aspects associated with the Indian socio-economic environment that both frame the way the disease is experienced and perceived, which in turn, structure the delivery of cancer care to patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such dynamics have also emerged as deeply embedded in social cleavages around class, caste, place and gender. The (biomedical) clinic is often a site of struggle over the meanings of illness and approaches to care, presenting both opportunities for patients as well as restrictions (Loblay, 2010; Ram, 2010). It provides hope for treatment and recovery but also harbours the potential for alienation in biomedical encounters where traditional beliefs and practices around the body and illness are being challenged by techno-scientific forms of health practice (Broom et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of cancer in urban India: Cultural understandings, structural inequalities and the emergence of the clinic

Broom

Doron

2011

Health (London)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cancer services in India have evolved and expanded significantly in recent years, with a surge in the availability of biomedical oncological treatment facilities for certain cohorts of the Indian population in urban areas. Despite significant and sustained economic development in many areas of India, major issues persist in the delivery of cancer care, even in the context of relatively prosperous urban populations. This article explores the dilemmas evident in Indian cancer care as perceived by a group of Indian oncology clinicians. Specifically, the interviews focused on their perspectives on the key challenges facing cancer patients, particularly in relation to help-seeking and access to care. The main concerns that emerged in the interviews were: (a) practical constraint (i.e. access and treatment); (b) cultural values (i.e. communication, stigma and the clinic); and (c) structural conditions (i.e. inequalities related to place, gender and class). We unpack these as important elements of cancer care in contemporary India, and present Farmer's notion of structural violence, among other concepts, as potentially useful for understanding some facets of this social problem. We conclude that without a greater understanding of social and cultural issues shaping cancer care in India, little progress will be made in coping with a disease that is set to become a major burden within an increasingly prosperous and ageing population.

show abstract

“…A significant issue related to non-disclosure is the intertwining of gendered and patriarchal dynamics within accounts of care (cf. Ram, 2010). The interviews specifically provide insight into gendered and intergenerational responsibility in India, and how these may shape the therapeutic encounter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illness Experiences, Collective Decisions, and the Therapeutic Encounter in Indian Oncology

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social science scholarship on cancer has been almost exclusively focused on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, despite a significant epidemiological transition taking place in many non-OECD contexts, with cancer emerging as a prominent, and strongly feared, illness experience. With cancer gaining an increasingly high profile in India, there is an urgent need to explore how experiences of cancer may be socially and culturally embedded, and in turn, how localized practices may shape the therapeutic encounter. Here, drawing on interviews with 40 people living with cancer in Hyderabad, India, we focus on some specific components of their therapeutic journeys, including diagnostic and prognostic disclosure, collective versus individual decision making, the dynamics of medical authority, and the reception of cancer within their social milieu. These participants' accounts provide insight into a range of cultural sensibilities around illness and care, and reinforce the importance of understanding the cultural inflections of communication, decisions, and illness experiences.

show abstract

Class and the clinic: the subject of medical pluralism and the transmission of inequality

Cited by 7 publications

References 10 publications

Menopause: Midlife Experiences of Low Socio-economic Strata Women in Haryana

Menopause: Midlife Experiences of Low Socio-economic Strata Women in Haryana

The rise of cancer in urban India: Cultural understandings, structural inequalities and the emergence of the clinic

Illness Experiences, Collective Decisions, and the Therapeutic Encounter in Indian Oncology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About