Journal article
REVISITING THE SICK ROLE: PERFORMING REGIMES OF PATIENTHOOD IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Sociological viewpoints, v 33(1), pp 70-90
01 Jan 2019
Abstract
Beginning with the sick role, sociologists of health and illness have characterized how illness behaviors and experiences are deeply social (Bury 1982; Charmaz 1991; Corbin and Strauss 1988; Williams 1984; Williams 2005). Building on the emergent use ofpatienthood (Erikainen, Pickersgill, Cunningham-Burley, and Chan 2019; Kerr and Cunningham-Burley 2015; Sosnowy 2014; Vinson 2016) and regimes of practice (Bell 2009; Klawiter 2008, 2004), we develop the concept regimes of patienthood to theorize how illness behavior is socially constructed, connecting individual biographies and social structure in historically specific ways, with power and resistance visible at all times. Drawing on analysis of 45 in-depth interviews conducted with United States [U.S.] residents living with autoimmune illness, we argue that contemporary regimes of middle-class patienthood emphasize four main strategies: 1) becoming a knowledgeable patient, 2) cultivating collaborative relationships with clinicians, 3) using a broad repertoire of healing techniques to manage and limit symptoms, and 4) putting themselvesfirst. These illness behaviors are produced by and contribute to structural forces such as the cultural emphasis on the active patient, the digitization and decentralization of knowledge, the valorization of collaboration, and individualism. Although intimately intertwined with social forces, use of the four strategies allowed participants to manage unpredictable illness conditions and regain a sense ofcontrol over their bodies and lives.
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Details
- Title
- REVISITING THE SICK ROLE: PERFORMING REGIMES OF PATIENTHOOD IN THE 21ST CENTURY
- Creators
- Kelly Joyce - Drexel University, SociologyMelanie Jeske - University of California, San Francisco
- Publication Details
- Sociological viewpoints, v 33(1), pp 70-90
- Publisher
- Pennsylvania Sociological Society
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Sociology
- Other Identifier
- 991021903705304721