Domestic practice, situated contingency and adherence to medical directives: A call for research

Abstract

Despite medical sociology's long-standing concern with the relationship between clinical and domestic spheres, studies of adherence have generally approached the disparity between medically prescribed treatment regimens and patients' behavior as products of patients' thoughts and beliefs regarding prescribed regimens. These studies overlook the extent to which these thoughts and beliefs are dictated by the situated and contingent dynamics of patients' lives rather than conceptual reflection alone. Drawing on Bourdieuian, ethnomethodological and other qualitative studies of both health practices and domestic routines, this article problematizes the tendency in adherence research to neglect the contours and rhythms of situated domestic practices and argues for their analytic inclusion in adherence studies. We conclude by suggesting that these dimensions of domestic life can be best captured by ethnographic methods, specifically, observation and interviews, which are designed to highlight both situated practice in social context and the subjective meanings that actors attach to it.