Diabetes: The Layperson’s Theories of Causality

Abstract

The authors examine laypersons' perspectives of illness: the content of causal explanations of diabetes and differences in explanations according to gender. Qualitative research was carried out in Guadalajara, Mexico. A nonprobabilistic sample of 20 diabetic individuals participated in interviews, and the content of the interviews was analyzed. On the origin of their condition, participants offered explanations that match neither the biomedical model nor any other formal causal theory. Participants attributed the onset of diabetes to socioemotional circumstances linked to their life experiences and practices. Men attributed causality to work and social circumstances outside the home; women attributed it to family life and domestic circumstances. The authors discuss how lay theories can be useful for the reorganization of health services.

Diabetes Self-care among a Multiethnic Sample of Older Adults

“…(Mercado-Martinez and Ramos-Herrera 2002) Explanations for the greater use of unconventional approaches among Hispanics have focused on the effects of acculturation or assimilation, language, and socioeconomic status. (Markides et al 1996) Future studies should determine whether Mexican-American informants currently use unconventional approaches more than others or simply have tried one or two unconventional self-care methods over their life course.…”

“…(Weller et al 1999) Other studies among Mexican Americans in the U.S. and native communities in Canada have also demonstrated how people develop rich diabetes narratives that blend traditional and biomedical perspectives. (Hunt and Arar 2001;Mercado-Martinez and Ramos-Herrera 2002) In this paper, we examine patterns of self-care among four groups at elevated risk from diabetes, focusing on the questions: (1) what are the patterns and frequency of diabetes selfcare practices and (2) what explanations do people give for their self-care behaviors or why do they engage in these patterns? Drawing on cross-cultural comparison rather than an indepth view of one disproportionately affected group allows us to examine how institutions, beliefs, and practices have evolved and speculate on why such traits are shared or distinctive.…”

Variations in Lay Health Theories: Implications for Consumer Health Care Decision Making

“…Two, most research examining health beliefs is not about health, per se, because it examines specific illnesses or medical conditions as opposed to overarching belief systems that drive specific beliefs and behaviors (Stainton Rogers, 1991). Three, health behavior compliance research is based on the assumption that consumers' health behaviors are driven by the resemblance of their beliefs to professional medical knowledge (Mercado-Martinez & Ramos-Herrera, 2002). This assumption continues despite empirical results demonstrating that lay views are not just watered-down versions of expert knowledge, but incorporate dimensions lying outside the boundaries of professional knowledge (Cheyney, 2008;Clouser & Hufford, 1993;Furnham, 1988;Hughner & Kleine, 2004;Kleinman, 1986;O'Connor, 1995;Stainton Rogers, 1991).…”

“Como Si Nada”: Enduring Violence and Diabetes among Rural Women in Southern Mexico

“…Diabetes exceeds the physiological condition of high blood sugar treatable with medication; it reflects a much broader breakdown, as illness narratives reveal. The ethnographic results of this work, therefore, contribute to a large body of research that highlights how suffering and diabetes are linked(Cabassa et al 2008;Ferreira and Lang 2006;García de Alba et al 2006;Mendenhall et al 2012;Mendenhall and Jacobs 2012, Mendenhall et al 2010;Mercado-Martínez and Ramos-Herrera 2002; Rock 2003;Schoenberg et al 2005) and how "stressful life circumstances determined by social inequality"(Thapa 2014:437) affect people with diabetes.…”