Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Apr 2013
'Emotional rights', moral reasoning, and Jewish-Arab alliances in the regulation of in-vitro-fertilization in israel: theorizing the unexpected consequences of assisted reproductive technologies.
Consumption rates of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in Israel is internationally unprecedented, a phenomenon that has been the subject of growing anthropological and sociological attention. Explanations for the singular extent of ARTs use in Israel tend to pre-assume and conceptually prioritize the symbolic and political power of pro-natalist discourses, Jewish religious values, and the demographic interests of the Jewish state. This article attempts to understand the exceptional usage of IVF in Israel in terms of its emergent meanings and unexpected effects in a particular local setup. ⋯ The latter assumes shared 'emotional vulnerability' of all 'childless' Israelis, Jews and Arabs alike and advocates a universal language of 'emotional rights' and 'human rights'. This liberal framing of IVF, which is the most persuasive justification in the dispute, blurs dichotomous rivalries between Jews and Arabs and generates a potential for alliances between traditionally rival sectors. These are some of the unexpected and non-intuitive consequences of ARTs in Israel.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2013
A new prevention paradox: the trade-off between reducing incentives for risk selection and increasing the incentives for prevention for health insurers.
The Dutch risk equalization scheme has been improved over the years by including health related risk adjusters. The purpose of the Dutch risk equalization scheme is to prevent risk selection and to correct for predictable losses and gains for insurers. The objective of this paper is to explore the financial incentives for risk selection under the Dutch risk equalization scheme. ⋯ Improvement of the risk equalization scheme reduced the gap between costs and revenues. Incentives for undesirable risk selection were reduced, but simultaneously incentives for health promotion were weakened. This highlights a new prevention paradox: improving the level playing field for health insurers will inevitably limit their incentives for promoting the health of their clients.
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Social science & medicine · Dec 2012
ReviewMore than culture: structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health.
Explanations for immigrant health outcomes often invoke culture through the use of the concept of acculturation. The over reliance on cultural explanations for immigrant health outcomes has been the topic of growing debate, with the critics' main concern being that such explanations obscure the impact of structural factors on immigrant health disparities. ⋯ Based on our review of the literature, we suggest specific lines of inquiry regarding immigrants' experiences with day-to-day discrimination, as well as on the roles that place and immigration policies play in shaping immigrant health outcomes. The paper concludes with suggestions for integrating intersectionality theory in future research on immigrant health.
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Social science & medicine · Dec 2012
Comparative StudyEthnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: a cross-national comparison.
Studies indicate an ethnic density effect, whereby an increase in the proportion of racial/ethnic minority people in an area is associated with reduced morbidity among its residents, though evidence is varied. Discrepancies may arise due to differences in the reasons for and periods of migration, and socioeconomic profiles of the racial/ethnic groups and the places where they live. It is important to increase our understanding of how these factors might promote or mitigate ethnic density effects. ⋯ In the US, increased Caribbean ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism, but the opposite was observed in England. On the other hand, increased black ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism of Caribbean English (results not statistically significant), but not of Caribbean Americans. By comparing mutually adjusted Caribbean and black ethnic density effects in the US and England, this study examined the social construction of race and ethnicity as it depends on the racialised and stigmatised meaning attributed to it, and the association that these different racialised identities have on health.
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Social science & medicine · Dec 2012
Benefit or burden? A sociotechnical analysis of diagnostic computer kiosks in four California hospital emergency departments.
High expectations for new technologies coexist with wide variability in the actual adoption and impact of information technology (IT) projects in clinical settings, and the frequent failure to incorporate otherwise "successful" projects into routine practice. This paper draws on actor-network theory to present an in-depth, sociotechnical analysis of one such project--a computer kiosk designed to diagnose and expedite treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI) in adult women. Research at a hospital urgent care clinic demonstrated the kiosk program's effectiveness at diagnosing UTI and reducing patient wait times, and the kiosk was subsequently adopted by the clinic for routine patient care. ⋯ However, the kiosk's "network" failed to stabilize as it encountered different patient populations, institutional politics, and the complex, pragmatic aspects of ED work at each site. The results of this evaluation challenge the persistent myth that a priori qualities and meanings inhere in technology regardless of context. The design and deployment of new IT projects in complex medical settings would benefit from empirically informed understandings of, and responses to, the contingent properties of human-technology relations.