IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i11p5982-d1158202.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Theoretically Informed Critical Review of Research Applying the Concept of Liminality to Understand Experiences with Cancer: Implications for a New Oncological Agenda in Health Psychology

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Stenner

    (School of Psychology and Counselling, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK)

  • Raffaele De Luca Picione

    (Faculty of Law, Giustino Fortunato University, Via Delcogliano 12, 82100 Benevento, Italy)

Abstract

Liminality was described more than 20 years ago as a major category explaining how cancer is experienced. Since then, it has been widely used in the field of oncology research, particularly by those using qualitative methods to study patient experience. This body of work has great potential to illuminate the subjective dimensions of life and death with cancer. However, the review also reveals a tendency for sporadic and opportunistic applications of the concept of liminality. Rather than being developed in a systematic way, liminality theory is being recurrently ‘re-discovered’ in relatively isolated studies, mostly within the realm of qualitative studies of ‘patient experience’. This limits the capacity of this approach to influence oncological theory and practice. In providing a theoretically informed critical review of liminality literature in the field of oncology, this paper proposes ways of systematizing liminality research in line with a processual ontology. In so doing, it argues for a closer engagement with the source theory and data, and with more recent liminality theory, and it sketches the broad epistemological consequences and applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Stenner & Raffaele De Luca Picione, 2023. "A Theoretically Informed Critical Review of Research Applying the Concept of Liminality to Understand Experiences with Cancer: Implications for a New Oncological Agenda in Health Psychology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-21, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:11:p:5982-:d:1158202
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5982/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5982/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Little, Miles & Jordens, Christopher FC & Paul, Kim & Montgomery, Kathleen & Philipson, Bertil, 1998. "Liminality: a major category of the experience of cancer illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1485-1494, November.
    2. Murphy, Robert F. & Scheer, Jessica & Murphy, Yolanda & Mack, Richard, 1988. "Physical disability and social liminality: A study in the rituals of adversity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 235-242, January.
    3. May, Carl & Rapley, Tim & Moreira, Tiago & Finch, Tracy & Heaven, Ben, 2006. "Technogovernance: Evidence, subjectivity, and the clinical encounter in primary care medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 1022-1030, February.
    4. Scott, S. & Prior, L. & Wood, F. & Gray, J., 2005. "Repositioning the patient: the implications of being 'at risk'," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(8), pages 1869-1879, April.
    5. Navon, Liora & Morag, Amira, 2004. "Liminality as biographical disruption: unclassifiability following hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(11), pages 2337-2347, June.
    6. Karen Strickland & Allison Worth & Catriona Kennedy, 2017. "The liminal self in people with multiple sclerosis: an interpretative phenomenological exploration of being diagnosed," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(11-12), pages 1714-1724, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elisabeth Dahlborg Lyckhage & Anna Gardvik & Helena Karlsson & Jenny Törner Mulari & Ina Berndtsson, 2015. "Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(1), pages 21582440155, March.
    2. Robin Digby & Susan Lee & Allison Williams, 2018. "The liminality of the patient with dementia in hospital," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1-2), pages 70-79, January.
    3. Saunders, Benjamin & Bartlam, Bernadette & Artus, Majid & Konstantinou, Kika, 2018. "Biographical suspension and liminality of Self in accounts of severe sciatica," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 28-36.
    4. Andreassen, Hege K., 2011. "What does an e-mail address add? - Doing health and technology at home," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(4), pages 521-528, February.
    5. Timmermans, Stefan & Almeling, Rene, 2009. "Objectification, standardization, and commodification in health care: A conceptual readjustment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 21-27, July.
    6. Jordens, Christopher F.C. & Morrell, Bronwen & Harnett, Paul & Hobbs, Kim & Mason, Catherine & Kerridge, Ian H., 2010. "Cancergazing? CA125 and post-treatment surveillance in advanced ovarian cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1548-1556, November.
    7. Shubin, Sergei & Rapport, Frances & Seagrove, Anne, 2015. "Complex and dynamic times of being chronically ill: Beyond disease trajectories of patients with ulcerative colitis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 105-112.
    8. Greenhalgh, Trisha & Wherton, Joe & Sugarhood, Paul & Hinder, Sue & Procter, Rob & Stones, Rob, 2013. "What matters to older people with assisted living needs? A phenomenological analysis of the use and non-use of telehealth and telecare," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 86-94.
    9. Karen Strickland & Allison Worth & Catriona Kennedy, 2017. "The liminal self in people with multiple sclerosis: an interpretative phenomenological exploration of being diagnosed," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(11-12), pages 1714-1724, June.
    10. Salter, Charlotte Ingrid & Howe, Amanda & McDaid, Lisa & Blacklock, Jeanette & Lenaghan, Elizabeth & Shepstone, Lee, 2011. "Risk, significance and biomedicalisation of a new population: Older women's experience of osteoporosis screening," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 808-815, September.
    11. Emslie, Carol & Browne, Susan & MacLeod, Una & Rozmovits, Linda & Mitchell, Elizabeth & Ziebland, Sue, 2009. "'Getting through' not 'going under': A qualitative study of gender and spousal support after diagnosis with colorectal cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1169-1175, March.
    12. MacDonald, Chelsea & Theurer, Julie A. & Doyle, Philip C., 2021. "“Cured” but not “healed”: The application of principles of palliative care to cancer survivorship," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    13. Greenhalgh, Joanne & Flynn, Rob & Long, Andrew F. & Tyson, Sarah, 2008. "Tacit and encoded knowledge in the use of standardised outcome measures in multidisciplinary team decision making: A case study of in-patient neurorehabilitation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 183-194, July.
    14. 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.
    15. Foley, Rose-Anna & Hurard, Lucie Lechevalier & Anchisi, Annick & Anchisi, Sandro, 2019. "Rising to the medication's requirements: The experience of elderly cancer patients receiving palliative chemotherapy in the elective oncogeriatrics field," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    16. Assing Hvidt, Elisabeth & Grønning, Anette & Nisbeth Brøgger, Matilde & Møller, Jane Ege & Fage-Butler, Antoinette, 2021. "Multilevel structures and human agency in relation to email consultations: A strong structuration theory analysis of the Danish general practice setting," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    17. Geltzer, Anna, 2009. "When the standards aren't standard: Evidence-based medicine in the Russian context," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 526-532, February.
    18. Werner-Lin, Allison & Forbes Shepherd, Rowan & Young, Jennifer L. & Wilsnack, Catherine & Merrill, Shana L. & Greene, Mark H. & Khincha, Payal P., 2022. "Embodied risk for families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome: Like electricity through my body," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    19. Kristin Turney, 2013. "Liminal Men: Incarceration and Family Instability," Working Papers 1478, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    20. Standing, Holly C. & Rapley, Tim & MacGowan, Guy A. & Exley, Catherine, 2017. "‘Being’ a ventricular assist device recipient: A liminal existence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 141-148.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:11:p:5982-:d:1158202. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.