Social Issues in Diagnosis by Kevin Dew

Social Issues in Diagnosis by Kevin Dew

Diagnosis, the classification tool of medicine, serves an important social role. It confers social status on those who diagnose, and it impacts the social status of those diagnosed. Studying diagnosis from a sociological perspective offers clinicians and students a rich and sometimes provocative view of medicine and the cultures in which it is practiced. Social Issues in Diagnosis describes how diagnostic labels and the process of diagnosis are anchored in groups and structures as much as they are in the interactions between patient and doctor. The sociological perspective is informative, detailed, and different from what medical, nursing, social work, and psychology students - and other professionals who diagnose or work with diagnoses - learn in a pathophysiology or clinical assessment course. It is precisely this difference that should be integral to student and clinician education, enriching the professional experience with improved doctor-patient relationships and potentially better health outcomes. Chapters are written by both researchers and educators and reviewed by medical advisors. Just as medicine divides disease into diagnostic categories, so have the editors classified the social aspects of diagnosis into discrete areas of reflection, including: Classification of illness; Process of diagnosis; Phenomenon of uncertainty; Diagnostic labels; Discrimination; Challenges to medical authority; Medicalization; Technological influences; and Self-diagnosis. Additional chapters by clinicians, including New York Times columnist Lisa Sanders, M.D., provide a view from the front line of diagnosis to round out the discussion. Sociology and premed students, especially those prepping for the new MCAT section on social and behavioral sciences, will appreciate the discussion questions, glossary of key terms, and classify mnemonic.

The broad scope of Social Issues in Diagnosis makes this book not only useful for premed or medical students but also undergraduate courses in medical anthropology or public healthMedical Anthropology Quarterly Very useful, relevant, and easily approached text on an important subject. -- Amanda Howe British Journal of General Practice The editors and contributors have offered a significant addition to the cultural competency discussion, whether for the student and classroom environment or for attendings thinking about their individual practice style and habits. This is a tremendous addition to every academic library. -- Vincent F. Carr Doody's Review Service This edited collection of works...further illuminates diagnosis, providing an insight into the workings of medicine and the difficulties and importance of diagnosis in contemporary health care... Social Issues in Diagnosis shows persuasively how diagnosis is a collaborative process of development that involves a range of stakeholders and healthcare professionals over a period of time...The editors and authors make a significant contribution to the emerging subfield of the sociology of diagnosis. -- Natalie Wotherspoon Sociology of Health and Illness Jutel and Dew's book, Social Issues in Diagnosis, demonstrates quite clearly the vital importance of informing practice with scholarship from academic disciplines... Given its accessibility, this book is likely to be a star in medical schools and other clinical training institutions as a part of any course where the object is to prepare neophytes for the human realities of practice... Student and trainees are not the only populations that will enjoy and benefit from this book. Any clinician who wants to think deeply and academically about the nature and context of their work will find much practical value inside its pages. -- C. Albert Bardi PsycCRITIQUES Range of perspectives gathered from different disciples and areas of the world that [provide] the reader with a balanced and global critique of diagnosis. -- Anna Olaitan Nursing Times

Kevin Dew, PhD, is professor of sociology at Victoria University of Wellington, and before that was a lecturer in public health at the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is a founding member of the Applied Research on Communication in Health (ARCH) group. Current research activities include studies of interactions between health professionals and patients, and the social meanings of medications, which are supported by research grants from major funding bodies. He is on the international advisory boards of Sociology of Health and Illness and Critical Public Health, the editorial boards of The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health and New Zealand Sociology and is an associate editor of Kotuitui, the New Zealand Royal Society social science journal. His authored books include The Cult and Science of Public Health: A Sociological Investigation, Borderland practices: Regulating Alternative Therapy in New Zealand, and Sociology of Health in New Zealand (with Allison Kirkman) and was a co-editor of the following publications: Health Inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand (edited with Anna Matheson) Health and society in Aotearoa New Zealand (edited with Peter Davis) and Challenging Science: Issues for New Zealand Society in the 21st Century (edited with Ruth Fitzgerald).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781421413006
ISBN 10	1421413000
Title	Social Issues in Diagnosis
Author	Kevin Dew
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Johns Hopkins University Press
Year published	2014-05-10
Number of pages	264
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable