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'A pill for every ill': Explaining the expansion in medicine use

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  • Busfield, Joan

Abstract

This paper explores the major factors underpinning the expansion in medicine use over recent decades, using England as an example. It begins by constructing a 'progressive' model of the expansion and considers its limitations; it then uses a framework of countervailing powers to examine the contribution of key actors in the field. It examines the commercial orientation of the pharmaceutical industry and the strategies companies deploy to generate demand for their products. It explores the part played by doctors as researchers and gatekeepers to medicines, considering how features of medical knowledge and practice contribute to, rather than curtail, the expansion. It considers the role of the public as consumers of medicines, and the role of governments and insurance companies in both facilitating and controlling medicine use.

Suggested Citation

  • Busfield, Joan, 2010. "'A pill for every ill': Explaining the expansion in medicine use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 934-941, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:6:p:934-941
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Corrigan, Oonagh P., 2002. "A risky business: the detection of adverse drug reactions in clinical trials and post-marketing exercises," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 497-507, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ebeling, Mary, 2011. "'Get with the Program!': Pharmaceutical marketing, symptom checklists and self-diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 825-832, September.
    2. Unruh, Lynn & Rice, Thomas & Rosenau, Pauline Vaillancourt & Barnes, Andrew J., 2016. "The 2013 cholesterol guideline controversy: Would better evidence prevent pharmaceuticalization?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(7), pages 797-808.
    3. Baum, Frances E. & Laris, Paul & Fisher, Matthew & Newman, Lareen & MacDougall, Colin, 2013. "“Never mind the logic, give me the numbers”: Former Australian health ministers' perspectives on the social determinants of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 138-146.
    4. Thomas, Felicity, 2016. "Young people's use of medicines: Pharmaceuticalised governance and illness management within household and school settings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 150-158.
    5. Thomas, Felicity & Depledge, Michael, 2015. "Medicine ‘misuse’: Implications for health and environmental sustainability," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 81-87.
    6. Gabe, Jonathan & Chamberlain, Kerry & Norris, Pauline & Dew, Kevin & Madden, Helen & Hodgetts, Darrin, 2012. "The debate about the funding of Herceptin: A case study of ‘countervailing powers’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2353-2361.
    7. Vallée, Manuel, 2019. "The countervailing forces behind France's low Ritalin consumption," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Venn, Susan & Meadows, Robert & Arber, Sara, 2013. "Gender differences in approaches to self-management of poor sleep in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 117-123.
    9. Bertotti, Andrea M. & Mann, Emily S. & Miner, Skye A., 2021. "Efficacy as safety: Dominant cultural assumptions and the assessment of contraceptive risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    10. Fisher, Jill A. & Cottingham, Marci D. & Kalbaugh, Corey A., 2015. "Peering into the pharmaceutical “pipeline”: Investigational drugs, clinical trials, and industry priorities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 322-330.
    11. Bell, Susan E. & Figert, Anne E., 2012. "Medicalization and pharmaceuticalization at the intersections: Looking backward, sideways and forward," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(5), pages 775-783.

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