A Critical Analysis of the Medical Model as used in the Study of Pregnancy and Childbirth

One key concept in medical sociology/anthropology for the analysis of approaches to health and illness is the medical model. However, this medical model is not only applied at the analytical level, i.e. as a sociological tool, but it also appeals to health service providers at a practical level as a model of working practice. This paper challenges the uncritical use of the medical model by practitioners and social scientists alike. The purpose of this paper is to separate and analyse the three different levels of understanding expressed in any model of childbirth, whether medical or social: (1) the practical; (2) the ideological and (3) the analytical level. Social scientists are advised to reflect on the question: 'At what level am I using the medical model as a theoretical concept in my work?' This is necessary not only to avoid further confusion, but also to ensure that our sociological tools maintain their ability to analyse the social world appropriately, without becoming 'blunt' due to the uncritical use

Ironic Recruitment Advert?

Is it ironic or just telling that on the very same BMJ.com webpage as James Buchan's short article on Challenges for WHO code on international recruitment [1] we see an advert recruiting overseas doctors to the UK? The advert asks: "Want to work in the UK? Click here for jobs that may be suitable for application by non-UK or non-EEA doctors." Some of the target audience of this advert will be the very doctors so very much needed in countries of the South. When we talk about global migration of doctors we must bear in mind that this phenomenon is neither new nor always 'bad'. First, some elements of the current doctor migration are no different from Scottish doctors going to study and work in Leiden, Padua or Heidelberg centuries ago. Secondly, going somewhere else can be beneficial for the development of individual doctors and for medicine in general. Thus doctors from developing countries coming to the UK or the USA to learn new techniques and skills which are not available at home is beneficial, the problem here occurs when large proportions of these doctors do not return home. The active recruitment of doctors by developed countries should be seen separate from the above and we should treat it probably as much an economic as a moral issue

Measuring patient satisfaction to allocate NHS funding: Opening a can of worms? Rapid Responses to: NEWS: Jacqui Wise: Part of hospitals’ funding will depend on patient satisfaction ratings from 2010-11 BMJ 2009; 339: b5451

Short piece, just over 400 words, without an Abstrac

Reply to Robert Dingwall’s Plenary ‘Confronting the 'Anti-Democrats: The Unethical Nature of Ethical Regulation in Social Science'

Short correspondence no abstract writte

Book Editor’s Note for Novice Reviewers

After several years as book review editor for Sociological Research Online it is time for me to put some of my experiences on paper. This short reflective paper aims to help potential contributors to write a ‘better’, ‘more useful’ or even ‘more interesting’ book review

A Critical Analysis of the Medical Model As Used in the Study of Pregnancy and Childbirth

One key concept in medical sociology/anthropology for the analysis of approaches to health and illness is the medical model. However, this medical model is not only applied at the analytical level, i.e. as a sociological tool, but it also appeals to health service providers at a practical level as a model of working practice. This paper challenges the uncritical use of the medical model by practitioners and social scientists alike. The purpose of this paper is to separate and analyse the three different levels of understanding expressed in any model of childbirth, whether medical or social: (1) the practical; (2) the ideological and (3) the analytical level. Social scientists are advised to reflect on the question: 'At what level am I using the medical model as a theoretical concept in my work?' This is necessary not only to avoid further confusion, but also to ensure that our sociological tools maintain their ability to analyse the social world appropriately, without becoming 'blunt' due to the uncritical use.Medical Sociology, Childbirth, Medical Model, Social Model, Midwifery, Pregnancy, Child Birth, Risk, Medicalisation.

Research training in a ‘real-life’ survey

A whole course or module is built round a survey research project devised in collaboration with a partner agency which may be an outside body (e.g. local government) or a unit in the teaching institution (such as a research group or the library). Other elements of the course/module, such as methodology, may extend and qualify understandings gained through the project

Understanding effects of armed conflict on health outcomes: the case of Nepal

Objective There is abundance of literature on adverse effects of conflict on the health of the population. In contrast to this, sporadic data in Nepal claim improvements in most of the health indicators during the decade-long armed conflict (1996-2006). However, systematic information to support or reject this claim is scant. This study reviews Nepal's key health indicators before and after the violent conflict and explores the possible factors facilitating the progress. Methods A secondary analysis has been conducted of two demographic health surveys- Nepal Family Health Survey (NFHS) 1996 and Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2006; the latter was supplemented by a study carried out by the Nepal Health Research Council in 2006. Results The data show Nepal has made progress in 16 out of 19 health indicators which are part of the Millennium Development Goals whilst three indicators have remained static. Our analysis suggests a number of conflict and non-conflict factors which may have led to this success. Conclusion The lessons learnt from Nepal could be replicable elsewhere in conflict and post-conflict environments. A nationwide large-scale empirical study is needed to further assess the determinants of Nepal's success in the health sector at a time the country experienced a decade of armed conflict