Where is the Care in Caring: A Polemic on Medicalisation of Health and Humanitarianism

Abstract

Currently in the caring professions, the human condition of facing uncertainty and danger is often overlooked in the quest for measurable outcomes that prove efficiency, taking agency out of the hands of the individuals being cared for. Traits that make an ‘ideal’ practitioner include compassion, advocacy skills, and the ability to engage with people in vulnerable situations, and to establish trusting, respectful relationships. Within a system of models, quotas, and specialties, these traits are easily hindered within health care and humanitarianism. The critical examination in this article in no way rejects the valuable elements in the fields of humanitarianism and health care. Rather, it discusses how care can be re-introduced. Uncertainty and danger are part of the human experience, and caring interventions need to take that into account. This article highlights the benefits of a collaborative relationship between the person in crisis and the practitioner, instead of a paternalistic relationship in which the practitioner is viewed as the ‘expert.’ With a caring perspective, the individual who is experiencing the crisis will retain ownership of and responsibility for their life, and not rely solely on external sources of wellbeing and comfort.

“We Need Other Human Beings in Order to be Human”: Examining the Indigenous Philosophy of Umunthu and Strengthening Mental Health Interventions

“…Life is uncertain and impermanent (Kleinman 2019 ; Lindekens and Jayawickrama 2018 ). In response, all societies have developed their own epistemologies and approaches to dealing with these realities which are specific to the social, political, cultural, economic and environmental contexts of each society (Jayawickrama 2018 ; Scott 1979 ).…”

“…‘Civilizations’ as a series of global, historic and current entities are replete with examples of systematic approaches to peoples’ suffering. From Ayurveda (3300 BCE to 1300 BCE), Chinese Medicine (14th–11th centuries BCE), Persian Medical Sciences (224–651 CE) as well as other approaches in Africa (Lindekens and Jayawickrama 2018 ), explanations and approaches to mental health problems and challenges to the overall wellbeing of people have been developed. While the history of mainstream modern medicine can be traced to Hippocrates (400 BCE), the rise of this practice in Europe and North America only arose in the 19th Century and the contemporary concept of mental health, originating from the mental hygiene movement, was only instigated in 1908 (Beers 1937 ).…”

Re-Imagining Alternative Futures through Empowerment

“…The above poignant extract unmasks the fiction of care in healthcare professions [14,24,37,43]. The extract indirectly applies to the commercialisation and acquisition of women's agency [8,14].…”