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Views of what's wrong: Diagnosis and patients' concepts of illness

Author

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  • Hunt, Linda M.
  • Jordan, Brigitte
  • Irwin, Susan

Abstract

A group of women were interviewed about their construction of their illness experiences before they saw a physician and subsequently over a period of several months following consultation. It was found that the physician's input was one of many components of their post-consultation understanding of their illness. The women built up their understandings in an interactive process, drawing significantly on their prior histories, ongoing experiences and social worlds. They continually tried out, adjusted and reworked the construction of their illnesses to adapt them to the exigencies of everyday life. We conclude that illness explanations are dynamic entities whose adequacy is determined by their usefulness within the extra-medical social environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Hunt, Linda M. & Jordan, Brigitte & Irwin, Susan, 1989. "Views of what's wrong: Diagnosis and patients' concepts of illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 945-956, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:28:y:1989:i:9:p:945-956
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Budych, Karolina & Helms, Thomas M. & Schultz, Carsten, 2012. "How do patients with rare diseases experience the medical encounter? Exploring role behavior and its impact on patient–physician interaction," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 154-164.
    2. Smith, Shannon L. & Quandt, Sara A. & Arcury, Thomas A. & Wetmore, Lindsay K. & Bell, Ronny A. & Vitolins, Mara Z., 2006. "Aging and eating in the rural, southern United States: Beliefs about salt and its effect on health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 189-198, January.
    3. Kamat, Vinay R., 2006. ""I thought it was only ordinary fever!" cultural knowledge and the micropolitics of therapy seeking for childhood febrile illness in Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 2945-2959, June.
    4. Lawton, Julia & Peel, Elizabeth & Parry, Odette & Douglas, Margaret, 2008. "Shifting accountability: A longitudinal qualitative study of diabetes causation accounts," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 47-56, July.
    5. Kamaldeep Bhui, 1997. "The Language of Compliance: Health Policy and Clinical Practice for the Severely Mentallyill," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 43(3), pages 157-163, September.

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