Nuove disuguaglianze di salute: il caso degli immigrati

The theme of inequalities in health conditions is taking on an increasingly important role in our society, because these inequalities are growing, and only if individuals are in good health can they be full citizens. In this paper we analyze and discuss new forms of inequality in health conditions, in relation to the presence of immigrants. In particular, we show how a society with racist tendencies contributes to increasing inequalities in health conditions, particularly as regards access to health services. We use quantitative and qualitative data

New Scope for Research in Traditional and Non-conventional Medicine Comment on “Substitutes or Complements? Diagnosis and Treatment with Non-conventional and Conventional Medicine”

he article takes its cue from models of quantitative research applied to complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) and pinpoints some innovative features in the case at issue (Portugal). It goes on to outline new research scenarios moving beyond the either biomedical or CAM framework

A Comparative Analysis of Inequality in Health Across Europe

The study of inequality in health concerns the relationship between socially structured characteristics and health outcomes. Howewer, health disparities are also linked to purely individual characteristics and contextual ones. In particular, the contextual effect at a national level may reflect differences in the functioning and performing of national health institutions, that may be conceived as further determinants of health inequalities. In this work we aim at estimating the effect of education on self-assessed health across European countries, taking into account potential confounders like age, gender and family social background. Using a multilevel model with individuals nested in countries, we can achieve two aims. First, we can see whether countries differ in their average self-assessed health score. Second, we can test our hypothesis about the existence of a European social gradient, that is that education exerts a relatively constant effect on self-assessed health. We develop our models using data from European Social Surveys (88,842 interviews).Health Inequalities, Health Policies, Public Health Care Systems, Comparative Studies

Disabilità e società

The book focuses on a well-established stream of research on disability which, both internationally and nationally, has proved fruitful in theoretical and analytical aspect, and was certainly fundamental in the process that led to the recognition of the rights of people with disabilities and the implementation of inclusive policies. The rigorous analysis present in all the chapters of the book also highlight the wide distance between the principles that guide the reflection on this issue, the policies for disability and the living conditions that people with disabilities experience daily. From the book emerges that the challenge is not merely the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities but also making these rights enforceable. For this to be possible, both efficient and effective policies and a cultural change which recognizes disabled people "as part of human diversity and humanity" is necessary. This means placing at the center of discussion the aspirations and the empowerment of people with disabilities. The book is designed for scholars of disability, but also for social operators who work with disabled people

A Comparative Analysis of Inequality in Health Across Europe

Abstract The study of inequality in health concerns the relationship between socially structured characteristics and health outcomes. Howewer, health disparities are also linked to purely individual characteristics and contextual ones. In particular, the contextual effect at a national level may reflect differences in the functioning and performing of national health institutions, that may be conceived as further determinants of health inequalities. In this work we aim at estimating the effect of education on self-assessed health across European countries, taking into account potential confounders like age, gender and family social background. Using a multilevel model with individuals nested in countries, we can achieve two aims. First, we can see whether countries differ in their average self-assessed health score. Second, we can test our hypothesis about the existence of a European social gradient, that is that education exerts a relatively constant effect on self-assessed health. We develop our models using data from European Social Surveys (88,842 interviews)

The Democratic Biopolitics of PrEP

PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a relatively new drug-based HIV prevention technique and an important means to lower the HIV risk of gay men who are especially vulnerable to HIV. From the perspective of biopolitics, PrEP inscribes itself in a larger trend of medicalization and the rise of pharmapower. This article reconstructs and evaluates contemporary literature on biopolitical theory as it applies to PrEP, by bringing it in a dialogue with a mapping of the political debate on PrEP. As PrEP changes sexual norms and subjectification, for example condom use and its meaning for gay subjectivity, it is highly contested. The article shows that the debate on PrEP can be best described with the concepts ‘sexual-somatic ethics’ and ‘democratic biopolitics’, which I develop based on the biopolitical approach of Nikolas Rose and Paul Rabinow. In contrast, interpretations of PrEP which are following governmentality studies or Italian Theory amount to either farfetched or trivial positions on PrEP, when seen in light of the political debate. Furthermore, the article is a contribution to the scholarship on gay subjectivity, highlighting how homophobia and homonormativity haunts gay sex even in liberal environments, and how PrEP can serve as an entry point for the destigmatization of gay sexuality and transformation of gay subjectivity. ‘Biopolitical democratization’ entails making explicit how medical technology and health care relates to sexual subjectification and ethics, to strengthen the voice of (potential) PrEP users in health politics, and to renegotiate the profit and power of Big Pharma

New Scope for Research in Traditional and Non-conventional Medicine; Comment on “Substitutes or Complements? Diagnosis and Treatment with Non-conventional and Conventional Medicine”

The article takes its cue from models of quantitative research applied to complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) and pinpoints some innovative features in the case at issue (Portugal). It goes on to outline new research scenarios moving beyond the either biomedical or CAM framework

From Medicalisation to Pharmaceuticalisation - A Sociological Overview. New Scenarios for the Sociology of Health

The aim of this paper is to analyse the sociological literature on pharmaceuticalisation and see how sociology helps us understand and explain the phenomenon. We then discuss how sociology, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, defines the process of pharmaceuticalisation and how this last is evolving. The paper points out that, while medicalisation remains a key concept for health sociology, it is increasingly being queried and/or extended to allow for a techno-scientific era of biomedicalisation (Clarke et al. 2003) and to acknowledge the importance of the pharmaceutical industry in this process (Williams, Martin and Gabe 2011a, 2011b). Particular attention will be paid to the process of pharmaceuticalisation as brought about not just by doctors and their prescriptions, but by the central role of pharmaceutical promoters and the marketing of drugs

Le phénomène des badanti en Italie. Caractéristiques et spécificités

Cet article analyse le phénomène des auxiliaires de vie (appelées badanti dans le langage commun) dans le contexte italien, en soulignant sa complexité et ses spécificités. En particulier, il prend en compte les facteurs qui sont à l’origine d’une telle présence, les changements et les impacts que cette figure détermine sur l’État-providence italien, sur les dynamiques familiales et sur la demande d’assistance. Sur la base des données d’une recherche empirique, l’attention est portée sur les effets positifs et négatifs que la présence des auxiliaires de vie produit sur l’offre de services et sur leur rôle positif, au sein du système de Welfare