1
|
Pickersgill M. A consideration of the social dimensions and implications of neuroimaging research in global health, as related to the theory-ladened and theory-generating aspects of technology. Neuroimage 2021; 236:118086. [PMID: 33901647 PMCID: PMC8271093 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Drawing on insights from sociology, anthropology, and the history of science and medicine, this paper considers some of the social dimensions and implications for neuroimaging research undertaken within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It highlights three key inter-connected issues: (1) technologies for enhancing understandings of ill-health are theory-laden; (2) such technologies are theory-generating; and (3) studies of mental ill-health can also introduce new idioms for understanding subjective distress. The paper unpacks and explores these issues. It argues that the use of neuroimaging technologies in population research has the potential to contribute to solidifying - or even introducing - a biological (and specifically brain-based) understanding of mental ill-health within the communities under study. Examples from studies of neuroscience and society in various high-income countries (HICs) where neuroimaging is popular within public discourse illustrates how this can happen, and with what effects. The social dimensions and implications of neuroimaging are issues that all researchers using these technologies need to not only anticipate, but also explicitly plan for (and potentially seek to mitigate). Without adequate consideration, neuroimaging research carries with it particular risks in relation to extending the epistemological coloniality associated with HIC-sponsored studies conducted within LMIC settings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martyn Pickersgill
- University of Edinburgh, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Can we talk about it? A qualitative study exploring occupational therapists’ decision making in judging when to ask an older person about drinking alcohol. AGEING & SOCIETY 2020. [DOI: 10.1017/s0144686x20000951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractOlder people now currently drink alcohol more frequently than previous generations, indicating a need to understand how this influences health and wellbeing in older adults. However, knowledge and awareness of the changing role alcohol plays in the lives of older people is not necessarily widely understood by allied health professionals in acute hospital contexts. In turn, conversations about drinking alcohol in later life may not be routinely addressed as part of practice, limiting an older person's choice to make informed decisions about their drinking. This paper qualitatively examines when occupational therapists (N = 17) in an acute hospital setting will initiate a conversation with older people (65+ years) about their drinking, guided by a theoretical lens that encompasses both person-centredness and collective occupation. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this study illustrates a typology of reasoning describing how, and in what circumstances, therapists ask older people about their alcohol use. Three themes were generated that provide further insight into the typology, these being ‘hesitancy in practice’, ‘failure to link life transitions to alcohol use’ and ‘challenges of focusing on healthfulness’. These findings provide a potentially useful tool for therapists, services and organisations to self-assess their approach to asking older people about alcohol use; a necessary element of professional health-care practice as social trends in alcohol use continue to increase.
Collapse
|
3
|
Bhattacharya S, Medcalf A, Ahmed A. Humanities, criticality and transparency: global health histories and the foundations of inter-sectoral partnerships for the democratisation of knowledge. HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS 2020; 7:6. [PMID: 33241231 PMCID: PMC7116415 DOI: 10.1057/s41599-020-0491-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Historians of medicine have been influential actors in a broader movement to highlight the social, institutional and administrative benefits of historical research, and its relevance for national and international policy intended to extend and improve contemporary healthcare. Historical perspectives are fundamentally useful to health policy actors because questions about what it is to be healthy, to suffer disease or disability, and the presentation and acceptance of solutions are interwoven in culturally and historically complex webs of meaning. Historians, as they have examined the social and cultural social determinants of health, have also used their work as public engagement, educational and policy resource tools, demonstrating that history is an effective way of making key issues in science, medicine and well-being more administratively responsive and accessible to lay audiences. This article explores such issues through the case study of the long-running World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Histories project. Established in late 2004, the project's enduring rationale has been that understanding the history of health helps the global public health community to respond to the challenges of today and help shape a healthier future. It has sought to do this by bringing together researchers and policy-makers into honest and democratic conversations and exchanges of ideas. The aim has been to stimulate a fusion between historical evidence and current policy approaches to many of the most urgent health issues. This article discusses the challenges and opportunities in bringing health history and policy together, and explores the importance of explaining historical method and the need to convince policy partners how history is evidence-based, that it can access and provide useful strategic information from archives of major institutions, and, therefore, a useful contributor to making policy initiatives adaptable and acceptable within complex polities and societies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanjoy Bhattacharya
- Centre for Global Health Histories, Department of History, University of York, York, UK
| | | | - Aliko Ahmed
- Cambridge Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge and Public Health England, Cambridge, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Giles-Vernick T, Kutalek R, Napier D, Kaawa-Mafigiri D, Dückers M, Paget J, Ahmed SM, Cheah PY, Desclaux A, De Vries D, Hardon A, MacGregor H, Pell C, Rashid SF, Rodyna R, Schultsz C, Sow K, Wilkinson A. A new social sciences network for infectious threats. THE LANCET. INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2020; 19:461-463. [PMID: 31034383 DOI: 10.1016/s1473-3099(19)30159-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ruth Kutalek
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Napier
- Department of Anthropology, Centre for Applied Global Citizenship, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Michel Dückers
- Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - John Paget
- Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Syed Masud Ahmed
- James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Phaik Yeong Cheah
- MORU Tropical Health Network and Department of Bioethics and Engagement, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Alice Desclaux
- Centre Régional de Recherche et de Formation à la Prise en Charge Clinique du VIH et des Pathologies Infectieuses, Dakar, Senegal; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France
| | - Daniel De Vries
- Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anita Hardon
- Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Hayley MacGregor
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Christopher Pell
- Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sabina F Rashid
- James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Roman Rodyna
- Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Khoudia Sow
- Centre Régional de Recherche et de Formation à la Prise en Charge Clinique du VIH et des Pathologies Infectieuses, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Annie Wilkinson
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chan S, Cunningham-Burley S, de Togni G, Erikainen S, Sethi N, Takashima K. Beyond Binaries: Dissolving the Empirical/Normative Divide. AJOB Empir Bioeth 2020; 11:17-19. [PMID: 32096722 PMCID: PMC7048068 DOI: 10.1080/23294515.2020.1722290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Chan
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Giulia de Togni
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sonia Erikainen
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Nayha Sethi
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kayo Takashima
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Uehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Reigada C, Martín-Utrilla S, Pérez-Ros P, Centeno C, Sandgren A, Gómez-Baceiredo B. Understanding illnesses through a film festival: An observational study. Heliyon 2019; 5:e02196. [PMID: 31453393 PMCID: PMC6704338 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Audio-visual materials play a fundamental role in the context of education, care and clinical treatment, as they seem to have a high impact on public awareness. This study aims to describe what messages are perceived by the society at an International Festival of Short Films and Art on Diseases that may help to understand difficult topics, such as illness, dying and suffering. Through an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, using full participant observation and an open, self-administered questionnaire, 32 short films were analysed during a healthcare art festival. Categories were developed using inductive content analysis. The message perceived by the participants, after the viewing of the shorts and reflection of the debates among the attendees, were considered in four categories: i) creative and positive education is possible; ii) awareness of preconception and practical duties; iii) meaning of life changes the experience of illness; iv) family and caregivers also experienced suffering. The short films are considered as an excellent tool to generate social dialogue and debate. Public events can be understood as an opportunity to acquire, in an emotional and critical manner, other competencies for public awareness. Together, they are capable of communicating difficult messages through a fast, positive, and creative way.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carla Reigada
- University of Navarra, Institute for Culture and Society, ATLANTES Research Programme, Pamplona, Spain.,Institute of Health Research of Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Salvador Martín-Utrilla
- Catholic University of Valencia San Vicente Mártir, GRICPAL Research Group, Valencia, Spain.,Palliative Care Unit, Valencia Institute of Oncology, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pilar Pérez-Ros
- Faculty of Nursing, Catholic University of Valencia San Vicente Martir, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carlos Centeno
- University of Navarra, Institute for Culture and Society, ATLANTES Research Programme, Pamplona, Spain.,Institute of Health Research of Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain.,Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Palliative Care Department, Spain
| | - Anna Sandgren
- Center for Collaborative Palliative Care, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Tambone V, Lauri G, Guarino MPL, Campanozzi LL, Ciccozzi M. Leonardo's folio 730 recto: lessons for the medical humanities. Lancet 2019; 393:1411-1412. [PMID: 30967207 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30030-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vittoradolfo Tambone
- Institute of Philosophy of Scientific and Technological Practice, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome 00128, Italy
| | - Gaetano Lauri
- Faculty of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome 00128, Italy
| | | | - Laura Leondina Campanozzi
- Institute of Philosophy of Scientific and Technological Practice, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome 00128, Italy.
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Research Unit of Medical Statistic and Molecular Epidemiology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome 00128, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Pickersgill M, Chan S, Haddow G, Laurie G, Sridhar D, Sturdy S, Cunningham-Burley S. Biomedicine, self and society: An agenda for collaboration and engagement. Wellcome Open Res 2019; 4:9. [PMID: 30801038 PMCID: PMC6367656 DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15043.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The commitment of massive resources - financial, social, organisational, and human - drives developments in biomedicine. Fundamental transformations in the generation and application of knowledge are challenging our understandings and experiences of health, illness, and disease as well as the organisation of research and care. Coupled with the accelerated pace of change, it is pressing that we build authentic collaborations across and between the biomedical sciences, humanities and social sciences, and wider society. It is only in this way that we can ask and answer the penetrating questions that will shape improvements in human health now and in the decades ahead. We delineate the need for such commitments across five key areas of human and societal experience that impact on and are impacted by developments in biomedicine: disease; bodies; global movements and institutions; law; and, science-society engagements. Interactions between ideas, researchers, and communities across and within these domains can provide a way into creating the new knowledges, methods, and partnerships we believe are essential if the promises of biomedicine are to be realised.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martyn Pickersgill
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sarah Chan
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Gill Haddow
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Graeme Laurie
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Devi Sridhar
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Steve Sturdy
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|