Medical Sociology Research Articles

Black feminist theory in maternal health research: A review of concepts and future directions.

Black maternal health and well-being has become a necessary focal point for health researchers due to higher rates of maternal mortality and morbidity for Black women. However, what is often absent from this scholarship within medical sociology is Black Feminist Theory as a framework for understanding Black women's health and well-being. Drawing on Black feminist and maternal health scholarship, I argue that integrating Black feminist approaches in maternal health research expands our understandings of what processes and mechanisms are impacting the health and well-being of Black mothers, while also highlighting the importance of maternal health research that solely centers Black women. Specifically, I focus on three concepts of Black Feminist Theory as it relates to Black maternal health research: (1) examining Black women's standpoint as credible, (2) acknowledging the historical context of multiple systems of oppression against Black women, and (3) incorporating a perspective that acknowledges both disadvantages, as well as empowerment, in the lives of Black women. I end this review with a discussion of future directions for sociological research in maternal health, including the importance of acknowledging how Black mothers are both impacted by, and resisting, social structures that may add nuance to our current understandings of Black maternal health and well-being.

Veterinary professional identity: Conceptual analysis and location in a practice theory framework.

Professional, social, and cultural issues and phenomena of veterinary practice are now established areas of commentary and interest in research, education, professional publications and even in the mainstream media. Despite the availability of theoretically informed literature in diverse relevant domains and disciplines including professional practice, workplace learning, and medical sociology and anthropology, commentary and research on veterinary practice issues and phenomena remains dominated by clinician-educators and clinician-policymakers. Reflecting the clinical disciplinary traditions, there is a resulting over-representation of individualistic, positivist perspectives and under-theorized research studies. In this paper we provide an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for veterinary practice and veterinary professional identity grounded in a practice theory perspective. We begin by arguing for the need for such a framework by scoping veterinary practice in its contemporary social context. We go on to provide a sociocultural framing of veterinary practice, underlining the mutual constitution of individuals and the social world through participation in practices and taking into consideration important concepts including knowledge, institutions, ethics, and embodiment. We assert the importance of professional identity as a core phenomenon of veterinary practice, constituted by making meaning of professional practice experiences, especially through narrative and dialogue. This practice theory framework for veterinary practice and veterinary professional identity development provides rich opportunities for understanding, researching, and enacting diverse activities and phenomena, especially learning, development and change within and beyond formal educational settings.

Integrated Sociology Programs: Five Pillars to Guide Blended Curriculum Design

The field of sociology is uniquely poised as a discipline that can be combined with specialized training in other fields. Many work sectors are undergoing systemic or cultural changes based on demographic, political, and economic trends. At the same time, many graduates of sociology programs do not find jobs as “sociologists” or academics and must seek additional skill sets to enter the job market. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Integrated Sociology Programs (ISPs), outlining five pillars of such programs: (1) a focus on sociology as a skill set, (2) integration with a non-academic industry, (3) applied experiences, (4) integrated Industry Advisory Boards, and (5) inclusion of career-focused outcomes. We present a case study ISP that integrates Medical Sociology with the emerging field of Population Health Management. While there are many innovative combinations of subfields of sociology and non-academic fields, our case study offers an example that informed the conception of the five pillars of ISPs.

Проблемы и перспективы исследований здоровьесбережения в образовательной среде вуза: теоретический обзор

The publication is a review of Russian scientific and pedagogical literature, which aims to identify the most pressing issues in the field of health protection for students and teachers of higher education institutions. More than one hundred printed and electronic sources on pedagogy, psychology, medical sociology and educational sociology from 2020 through 2022 served as the material for the analysis. Scientific novelty of the study lies in determining current tasks and identifying promising areas of pedagogical research in the field of ensuring health protection for all subjects of the educational process in higher education. As a result, the thesis research of 2020-2022 on the topic under consideration has been analysed. The methodological foundations have been determined and new trends in the implementation of the health protection policy of universities have been identified, models and technologies for the formation of healthy lifestyle skills, stereotypes of health protection behaviour and students’ health culture in general have been classified. The advantages and risks of higher education digitalisation in terms of their impact on the health of students have been assessed. The prospects for implementing health protection technologies in higher education have been described.

Explaining the health system in a practical way - the use of a simulation game in medical sociology teaching.

A simulation game is a valuable method for conveying teaching content in a practical way. The aim was to design a teaching module for medical sociology on the subject of "The German health care system" which would convey the contents and connections to the students in a practical way using a simulation game. In addition to the development of scenarios for the simulation game, role cards for various institutions of the health care system were also produced as a result. The students were given the opportunity beforehand to work on theoretical content regarding the German health care system online (the "flipped classroom method"). In the 90-minute face-to-face event the simulation game was played, followed by a feedback session. The initial impressions of the students were collected. In the 2022 summer semester, a total of 185 students from the 4th pre-clinical semester took part in the seminar. The students were divided into twelve seminars. One scenario was worked on per seminar. The simulation game contributed to a better understanding of the health care system. The students were generally very satisfied with this type of knowledge transfer and thought that this method might well be integrated into teaching in the future. Communicating the health care system through a simulation game is evidently suitable for explaining clearly complex issues and presenting the various interests of the individual institutions. In addition, a simulation game stimulates critical debate and can contribute to imparting theoretical content in teaching medical sociology in a practical way.

Tren Penelitian Sosiologi Pendidikan Menggunakan Analisis Bibliometrik

Research on the sociology of education was carried out because it was driven by the need to understand how education influences and is influenced by social factors, and how to improve the education system so that it can provide fair and equitable opportunities for all individuals. The purpose of the research is to find out various studies on sociology education and future trends on this theme. The research method uses bibliometric analysis with the help of software including openrefine, vosviewer, and Rstudio. The database is obtained through Scopus because it is more trusted and has a worldwide reputation. Data is taken in csv form which is then processed with the help of the software. The results showed that research into sociology education had existed since 1924. The highest-ranking author in publications on this theme was Jaworski Ja, followed by Roucekjs then Linggard B and Zhang L. Several future research topics related to sociology education. Some of them contain qualitative studies, the internet, sociology, human experiments, emotional experiences, emotional expressions, product design, decision making, social interactions, health care quality, medical sociology, and health behavior.

TRAINING PHYSICIAN-SCIENTISTS IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE: INDIANA ADRD MEDICAL SCIENTIST TRAINING PROGRAM

Abstract There is a critical need to grow and strengthen the pipeline of physician scientists who have expertise in sociomedical and behavioral research and are dedicated to addressing the nation's challenges posed by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). In 2021 The Indiana ADRD Medical Scientist Training Program (IADRD MSTP) was designed to meet this need and is built on the infrastructure of a robust portfolio of ADRD research, graduate training programs in medical neurosciences and sociology, and our existing MD-PhD program at Indiana University School of Medicine. The Aims of the IADRD MSTP are: 1) To recruit and train a competitive pool of diverse students who have an interest and commitment to social and behavioral research and patient care focused on ADRD; 2) To engage MD-PhD students early in mentored sociomedical and behavioral research that integrates IUs systems-based medical training curriculum with our cutting edge ADRD research that reinforces commitment and minimizes attrition of physician-scientists ADRD; and 3) To graduate students with dual MD-PhD degrees with strong methodological training in social and behavioral science and experts in ADRD who will be successful independent investigators at the best academic medical centers nationwide. The program includes rigorous didactic training in social, behavioral, and clinical research methods, with flexibility to allow students to focus their effort on one methodological area of interest; early initiation of ADRD research experiences with multidisciplinary teams of mentors and advisors; and the provision of educational experiences that enhance students' abilities to become independent researchers.

The place and role of field studies in teaching medical sociology

Introduction: The goals of the subject of Medical sociology are to familiarize and explain the relationships between social environment and health. The theoretical and practical elements of the medical sociology education and the field studies that form a part of practical work serve these goals. During filed studies, we build on the previous knowledge and experience of thestudents. Method: The themes of the field studies change from semester to semester. From the series of studies we picked three themes that were connected to and built on each other. We present the role of field studies through their description and the explanation of our experiences. Results: Field studies add empirical skills and experience to the knowledge acquired during thetheoretical and practical training of medical sociology. The field study assignments also serve to strengthen the effects of the “hidden curriculum”, the process of the indirect professional socialization at the medical school. Furthermore, the new knowledge and skills give the students a better understanding of the scientific literature helping them in the interpretation of statisticaland methodological aspects of biomedical results and concepts. Conclusion: Our experiences show that field studies are an efficient teaching method. Its most important outcome is sensitizing medical students towards health related social problems and helping them to understand and handle such problems.

Themes of medical profession and professional socialization in medical sociology textbooks

Introduction: The present study examines the information on the medical profession and how the changes occurring in the medical practice, the social role and the evaluation of the physician are reflected in the English and Hungarian language medical sociology textbooks used in Hungary. Method: We analyzed chapters of Hungarian language medical sociology textbooks of thelast 25 years that discuss medical profession and student choices, and textbooks used in English language courses of Semmelweis University. Results: The corpus of the Hungarian textbooks (history of medical profession, medical role models, models of doctor-patient relationships, medical socialization) stayed relatively unchanged. While preserving the myth of the medical profession, there are criticisms towards the role and relationship models. The theme of the medical education gradually disappears from theEnglish language textbooks. The social positions of the medical profession and health care are discussed in a broader context, focusing on the health care system and health care provision, incorporating the allied professions, and taking aspects of patients/consumers into greater consideration. Summary: Both textbook types reflect on the changes in the social position of the medical profession. However, the English literature approaches the modernization processes from the angles of the health care system and health care provision, resulting in the diminishing importance of the topic of medical profession while the Hungarian literature focuses on the profession and professional education of physicians.

The (commercialised) experience of operating: Embodied preferences, ambiguous variations and explaining widespread patient harm.

This article provides a detailed account of how surgeons perceived and used a device-procedure that caused widespread patient harm: transvaginal mesh for the treatment of pelvic floor disorders in women. Drawing from interviews with 27 surgeons in Canada, the UK, the United States and France and observations of major international medical conferences in North America and Europe between 2015 and 2018, we describe the commercially driven array of operative variations in the use of transvaginal mesh and show that surgeons' understanding of their hands-on, sensory experience with these variations is central to explaining patient harm. Surgeons often developed preferences for how to manage actual and anticipated dangers of transvaginal mesh procedures through embodied operative adjustments, but collectively the meaning of these preferences was fragmented, contested and deferred. We critically reflect on surgeons' understandings of their operative experience, including the view that such experience is not evidence. The harm in this case poses a challenge to some ways of thinking about uncertainty and errors in medical sociology, and calls for attention to a specific feature of surgical work: the extent and persistence of operative practices that elude classification as right or wrong but are still most certainly better and worse.

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education.

Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa with a population of 17.5 million. It has taken great strides in addressing disability inequality in recent years. Despite this, Malawian trade unions, educators and disability activists report wide-reaching disability discrimination at an infrastructural and individual level. Situated at the intersections between disability studies and medical sociology, alongside work of postcolonial and Global South scholars, this article highlights how neo-colonial and Anglocentric dominant framings of disability do not necessarily fit the Malawian workforce, as they ignore cultural and structural differences in the causes and maintenance of ill health and disability. Building on interviews with workers with disabilities, trade unionists, educators, government representatives and disability activists in Malawi's two biggest cities, the article emphasises the need to address specific local contexts; while policy asserts a model of social oppression, in practice, disability inclusion requires recognition of the social determinants of disability and inequality, and the economic, political and cultural context within which disability resides. Sharing co-designed approaches to engaging with disability definitions, stigma, language, infrastructure and resources, this article highlights the necessity of grounding disability and medical sociological theory in localised framings and lived experiences.

Finding the Familiar in the Strange

Finding the Familiar in the Strange

Being just their hands? Personal assistance for disabled people as bodywork.

Drawing on the notion of bodywork, we analyse the bodily aspects of personal assistance to expand the dialogue between medical sociology and disability studies. We aim to, firstly, overcome the lack of attention to the bodyworkof personal assistant (PAs)in disability studies; secondly, explore the micropolitics of personal assistance and the role of independent living mandates in configuring this bodywork of PAs; and, thirdly, propose a more relational and material approach to the impairment/disability debate. This exploration is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 23 PAs conducted in Spain between 2018 and 2020. Our research reveals that PAs' bodywork implies performing their body as body-absence, such as when they enact body-tool and body-prosthesis figurations, but also as body-presence, for instance, as acting bodies and affected/affecting bodies in specific situations. Through their analysis, we foreground how PAs' bodywork conveys normative ways of enacting the body and how these body figurations are not only challenged and negotiated but define the actual practice of personal assistance. To conclude, we stress on the theoretical contributions of our study towards both disability studies and medical sociology.

Artificial intelligence and the situational rationality of diagnosis: Human problem‐solving and the artifacts of health and medicine

AbstractWhat is the problem‐solving capacity of artificial intelligence (AI) for health and medicine? This paper draws out the cognitive sociological context of diagnostic problem‐solving for medical sociology regarding the limits of automation for decision‐based medical tasks. Specifically, it presents a practical way of evaluating the artificiality of symptoms and signs in medical encounters, with an emphasis on the visualization of the problem‐solving process in doctor‐patient relationships. In doing so, the paper details the logical differences underlying diagnostic task performance between man and machine problem‐solving: its principle of rationality, the priorities of its means of adaptation to abstraction, and the effects of seeking optimization in the problem‐solving process. Using these parameters as a heuristic for evaluating the capacity of AI to address issues of diagnostic error through design, the paper presents a conceptual review of the discipline of AI in medicine. Studies relying on procedural rationality describe models that treat diagnosis as a “natural artifact” by employing symbolic methods designed to simulate human problem‐solving. Research adhering to probabilistic rationality describes models that treat diagnosis as a “natural artifact” of an ecological image by utilizing sub‐symbolic methods designed to simulate neural networks. Research guided by situational rationality describes models that require treating diagnosis as a “socio‐cognitive artifact,” the artificiality of which is organized in discourses of patient‐centered decision‐making. The paper concludes with a commentary on the ethical application of AI in health and medicine, given the logical differences underlying diagnostic task performance.

Responsibility in Medical Sociology: A Second, Reflexive Look.

Personal responsibility has emerged as an important element in many countries’ public health planning, and has attracted substantial debate in public health discourse. Contemporary medical sociology typically resists such “responsibilization” as victim-blaming, by privileged elites, that obscures important structural factors and inequities. This paper, based primarily on a broad review of how contemporary Anglophone medical sociology literatures treat responsibility and blame, points out advantages of taking responsibility seriously, particularly from the individual’s perspective. These advantages include: empowerment; responsibility-as-coping-mechanism; moral dignity; and the pragmatic logic of doing for oneself, rather than passively awaiting societal reforms. We also offer possible reasons why sociologists and their subjects view these issues so differently, and suggest some areas for future research.

Expressivist objections to prenatal screening and testing: Perceptions of people living with disability.

The 'expressivist objection' (EO) refers to the notion that using reproductive (genetic) technologies to prevent the birth of future would-be disabled people contain, and express, a negative valuation of life with disability. Whilst the EO has received increased attention in recent years in line with rapid technological and genomic developments, there remains scant research on how EO concerns are experienced and expressedby disabled people and their families, especially within and between impairment groups. Bringing together two studies-one with adults and family members living with genetic conditions (n=62) and one with parents of children with Down's syndrome (n=22)-we argue that disabled people and their families variously embrace, reject or rework the EO across contexts, and yetalso frequently situate it within broad support for reproductive technologies. We present three key factors that mediate responses to the EO: (1) the nature of impairment and its integration within identity; (2) social and cultural contexts relating to disability and (3) the (individual and collective) imagined futures of disabled people. In so doing, we blend the conceptual architecture of medical sociology and disability studies, arguing that this allows us to accurately illuminate the nuanced responses of disabled people and their families.

Working it out: Will the improved management of leaky bodies in the workplace create a dialogue between medical sociology and disability studies?

This article focuses on the workplace as a significant site of convergence between the disciplines of medical sociology and disability studies. As disability remains on the margins of sociological exploration and theorising relating to health and work, disabled workers remain on the margins of the workforce, subject to disproportionate rates of unemployment, under employment and workplace mistreatment. The article focuses on the experiences of people with 'leaky bodies', focussing specifically on employees who experience troubling menstruation and/or have gynaecological health conditions. It brings together data from three studies conducted between 2017 and 2020; interviews with disabled academics (n=75), university staff with gynaecological health conditions (n=23), and key stakeholders in universities (n=36) (including university executives, line managers and human resources staff). These studies had separate, but linked foci, on the inaccessibility of workplaces, managing gynaecological health conditions at work and supporting disabled people at work respectively. Drawing on the Social Relational Model of disability and theories of embodiment, we explore the experiences and management of workers with leaky bodies in UK University workplaces. Data illustrates how workplace practices undermine embodied experiences of workers with 'leaky' bodies by maintaining workplaces which ignore their material reality. We highlight that addressing embodied needs alongside acknowledging disabled people as an oppressed political category represents a theoretical meeting point for disability studies and medical sociology.

The Medical and Health Humanities in the Middle East: Report on the Meeting of the 2nd International Conference on the Medical Humanities in the Middle East (online) in Doha, Qatar

The Medical and Health Humanities in the Middle East: Report on the Meeting of the 2nd International Conference on the Medical Humanities in the Middle East (online) in Doha, Qatar

Online student culture as site for negotiating assessment in medical education

Classic studies of medical education have examined how professional socialization reproduces the prevailing professional culture, as well as how students actively negotiate their place in educational processes. However, sociological research has not re-examined student culture in light of structural transformations in medical education, such as the introduction of new assessment types and their use as modes of commensuration. In this paper, we examine data from two studies of online forums where medical trainees and applicants to medical school discuss their experiences preparing for tests of professional skills, including judgment, empathy, and communication. Examining how medical students talk about these tests on such forums allows us to understand the meaning-making processes at work as students negotiate the commensuration processes such tests enable. We examine how these negotiations take place in online forums, where participants confront common challenges, form common perspectives, and share common solutions, all hallmarks of student culture. Through qualitative analysis, we find that online communities are spaces where students grapple with these new forms of commensuration, interrogate the standards and quantifications that underlie them, and collectively negotiate how to approach these assessments. Using the case of online forum communities, our findings advance past work on student culture in medical sociology by theorizing student culture as an extra-organizational phenomenon that spans multiple career stages. In so doing, we highlight the importance of online forum data for studying social processes.

Like clockwork? (Re)imagining rhythms and routines when living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Temporal trajectories of health, illness and disability-from biographical change to micro-embodied practices within social time-are important strands within medical sociology and disability studies. Drawing upon a UK-based qualitative study using diaries and follow-up interviews to explore everyday life with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), this article explores routines when living with the condition. It focuses specifically on accounts of routines being anticipated, slowed down and stretched out to accommodate and/or care for bodies, with personal and social rhythms weaved in, out and with each other. Such reflections are told through participants' accounts of knowing routines and rhythms, stretching out and pacing morning routines to care for the body and how everyday practices are reimagined as the body and the social meet. Drawing upon the concept of 'Crip Time' where the social bends to meet with the body, this article seeks to illuminate important intersections between medical sociology and disability studies through accounts of living with IBS. This article demonstrates the entanglement of structural, disabling temporal rhythms and embodied temporalities, through an acknowledgement of routines reimagined. It offers a contribution to both medical sociology and disability studies in reimagining social lives with embodied temporalities in mind.