Informing health? Negotiating the logics of choice and care in everyday practices of ‘healthy living’

Henwood, Flis; Harris, Roma; Spoel, Philippa

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.04.007

Cited by 54 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Consistent with contemporary discourses of the new public health (e.g., [35]) as well as past research (e.g., [51,52,17]), a belief in personal responsibility for health permeated many of the interviews and seemed to play a significant role in people’s understanding of their personal health management. When asked how they felt about the “health component” of their lives, participants were generally positive, which is perhaps not surprising given their general good health and the explicit interest of some (n = 11, 37%) in health as a topic.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

‘My health is not a job’: a qualitative exploration of personal health management and imperatives of the ‘new public health’

MacGregor

Wathen

2014

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThere is an increasing push in Western healthcare for people to ‘manage’ their health, a key aspect of what has been called the ‘new public health’. It has been argued that this ‘personal health management’ – informal work done to monitor, inform, or influence one’s health – may be a burden, with potential to contribute to poor health outcomes. However, there is little research actually examining perceptions of personal health management and the ‘burden’ of these activities, particularly for generally healthy individuals.MethodsWe conducted exploratory qualitative interviews with 30 generally healthy men and women about their perceptions and experiences of personal health management. Questions focused on health behaviours (e.g., information seeking), as well as feelings about these behaviours and perceptions of the time dedicated to health. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively using NVivo 10. Where appropriate, quantitative codes were applied and descriptive statistics are reported alongside qualitative findings.ResultsParticipants were generally satisfied with the amount of time spent on their health and few perceived personal health management as a burden. Many participants took issue with the concept of ‘work’ being associated with health and stressed the importance of taking personal responsibility for health.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that generally healthy people have internalised the notion of the ‘new public health’ and accepted the imperative of personal health responsibility. On the one hand, this bodes well for healthy individuals; their positive attitude may lead to better health outcomes, and the manageable amount of time spent suggests personal health management is unlikely to cause negative health consequences associated with stress. On the other hand, our findings may indicate that other factors, such as social determinants of health, are ignored in health promotion efforts and that those who cannot manage their own health may fall further behind. Future research should continue to explore the time people spend ‘working’ for their health, and how they perceive and respond to ‘new public health’ imperatives.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

‘My health is not a job’: a qualitative exploration of personal health management and imperatives of the ‘new public health’

MacGregor

Wathen

2014

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This feeling can be further intensified by the prevailing beliefs in Western societies that older adults should be responsible for managing their own health [59–62]. This responsibility includes making the correct choices related to one’s wellbeing [63, 64]. Philosopher Mol pointed how difficult it could be for persons with chronic diseases to make complex choices about their care [58].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects and Meanings of Receiving a Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease When One Lives Alone

Portacolone

Johnson

Covinsky

et al. 2018

JAD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background One third of older adults with cognitive impairment live alone and are at high risk for poor health outcomes. Little is known about how older adults who live alone experience the process of receiving a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective The aim of this study was to understand the effects and meanings of receiving a diagnosis of MCI or AD on the lived experience of older adults living alone. Methods This is a qualitative study of adults age 65 and over living alone with cognitive impairment. Participants’ lived experiences were elicited through ethnographic interviews and participant observation in their homes. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, interview transcripts and fieldnotes were analyzed to identify codes and themes. Results Twenty-nine older adults and 6 members of their social circles completed 114 ethnographic interviews. Core themes included: relief, distress, ambiguous recollections, and not knowing what to do. Participants sometimes felt uplifted and relieved by the diagnostic process. Some participants did not mention having received a diagnosis or had only partial recollections about it. Participants reported that, as time passed, they did not know what to do with regard to the treatment of their condition. Sometimes they also did not know how to prepare for a likely worsening of their condition, which they would experience while living alone. Conclusion Findings suggest the need for more tailored care and follow-up as soon as MCI or AD is diagnosed in persons living alone.

show abstract

“…When translated into health information, medical knowledge is thus transformed and turns into a technology of compliance rather than a source of empowerment. Henwood et al (2011Henwood et al ( , 2030 demonstrate how the pressure to become healthier and informed often leads not to a clear choice, but to confusion and anxiety. Rather than responding with care, the constant warning to be 'good' patients and make the right choices -to eat healthy food, abstain from sex, avoid pregnancy, etc.…”

Section: N Beckmannmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responding to medical crises: AIDS treatment, responsibilisation and the logic of choice

Beckmann

2013

Anthropology & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The framing of HIV/AIDS as a crisis has facilitated the rollout of large-scale intervention programmes that represent an enormous effort at mainstreaming biomedical rationalities and neoliberal notions of responsibilisation and self-care. Based on a 'logic of choice' (Mol 2008) and 'responsibilised citizenship' (Robins 2005a), although veiled in a language of rights and partnership, the heavy focus on individual behaviour and a pharmaceutical 'solution' to AIDS shifts the burden of responsibility for the success of the heavily funded programmes onto the shoulders of the patients and conceals alternative forms of responsibility. Analysing how HIV-positive people in Tanzania navigate life with HIV and the complex treatment regimens, this paper looks beyond biomedical rationality, which places the preservation of individual biological life at the centre of its logic, and analyses people's constant struggle to negotiate the meaning of 'responsible behaviour' in the context of their lived realities. This repositions the notion of responsibility in the realm of the social and reveals the rationality behind apparently irrational practices.

show abstract

Informing health? Negotiating the logics of choice and care in everyday practices of ‘healthy living’

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

‘My health is not a job’: a qualitative exploration of personal health management and imperatives of the ‘new public health’

‘My health is not a job’: a qualitative exploration of personal health management and imperatives of the ‘new public health’

The Effects and Meanings of Receiving a Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease When One Lives Alone

Responding to medical crises: AIDS treatment, responsibilisation and the logic of choice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About