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The limits of lifestyle: Re-assessing 'fatalism' in the popular culture of illness prevention

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  • Davison, Charlie
  • Frankel, Stephen
  • Smith, George Davey

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the development of preventive medicine in the field of Coronary Heart Disease. It is based on an in-depth, ethnographic investigation into the popular culture of prophylactic behaviour carried out in South Wales (U.K.) during 1988 and 1989. The focus of the data and analysis presented here is the operation of cultural norms and practices related to the understanding and explanation of the cause and distribution of illness and death from heart ailments. The paper illustrates how the everyday cultural practice of 'lay epidemiology' is involved in accounting for illness misfortune and in assessing the potential benefits of prophylactic behaviour change. A central issue dealt with here is the relationship of lifestyle to environment in the popular understanding of chronic disease. Lay notions of luck, fate, destiny, randomness and chaos in the distribution of heart disease are explored. In conclusion, some implications for health education in this field are put forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Davison, Charlie & Frankel, Stephen & Smith, George Davey, 1992. "The limits of lifestyle: Re-assessing 'fatalism' in the popular culture of illness prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 675-685, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:34:y:1992:i:6:p:675-685
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    Cited by:

    1. Waters, Erika A. & Ball, Linda & Gehlert, Sarah, 2017. "“I don’t believe it.” Acceptance and skepticism of genetic health information among African-American and White smokers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 153-160.
    2. Gavin Daker-White & Caroline Sanders & Anne Rogers & Ivaylo Vassliev & Christian Blickem & Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi, 2014. "A Constellation of Misfortune," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(4), pages 21582440145, November.
    3. Samantha Batchelor & Emma R. Miller & Belinda Lunnay & Sara Macdonald & Paul R. Ward, 2021. "Revisiting Candidacy: What Might It Offer Cancer Prevention?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Goldsmith, Daena J. & Lindholm, Kristin A. & Bute, Jennifer J., 2006. "Dilemmas of talking about lifestyle changes among couples coping with a cardiac event," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(8), pages 2079-2090, October.
    5. Armstrong, Natalie & Murphy, Elizabeth, 2008. "Weaving meaning? An exploration of the interplay between lay and professional understandings of cervical cancer risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1074-1082, October.
    6. Bell, Ann V. & Hetterly, Elizabeth, 2014. "“There's a higher power, but He gave us a free will”: Socioeconomic status and the intersection of agency and fatalism in infertility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 66-72.
    7. Emslie, Carol & Hunt, Kate, 2008. "The weaker sex? Exploring lay understandings of gender differences in life expectancy: A qualitative study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 808-816, September.
    8. Armaan A Rowther & Asiya K Kazi & Huma Nazir & Maria Atiq & Najia Atif & Nida Rauf & Abid Malik & Pamela J Surkan, 2020. "“A Woman Is a Puppet.” Women’s Disempowerment and Prenatal Anxiety in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study of Sources, Mitigators, and Coping Strategies for Anxiety in Pregnancy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Amaechi D. Okonkwo, 2013. "Generational Perspectives of Unprotected Sex and Sustainable Behavior Change in Nigeria," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(1), pages 21582440124, January.
    10. Skolbekken, John-Arne & Østerlie, Wenche & Forsmo, Siri, 2008. "Brittle bones, pain and fractures - Lay constructions of osteoporosis among Norwegian women attending the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2562-2572, June.

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