EXPERIENCING AND EXPLAINING DISEASE (Health and Disease Series, Bk 8)

by Davey (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1996

  $3.36

  This is a completely revised and updated version of the 1985 edition by the same name. It is the last in a series of eight textbooks on the subject of health and disease. Experiencing and Explaining Disease has been designed to be read on its own, like any other textbook, or studied as part of the U205 Health and Disease course for Open University students. Experiencing and Explaining Disease is a multidisciplinary account of the major factors influencing the ways in which states of wellness or illness are explained by professionals and experienced by lay people. This book examines the variety of meanings given by doctors, patients and the media to four contrasting states of ill-health: rheumatoid arthritis - a chronic, painful and permanently disabling condition; HIV and AIDS - a viral infection which leads to other, still ultimately fatal infections; asthma - a respiratory disorder which can involve acute emergencies but may be chronic or self-limiting; and schizophrenia - a mental state characterized by thought disorder and problems in the perception of reality. Experiencing and Explaining Disease examines prevailing social norms affecting the status of the sick person; why are some blamed for their condition or excluded from normal social interactions, while others are considered brave or victims of environmental damage? What factors contribute to or alleviate pain and suffering? This book should be a valuable text for students of health studies, social work, social policy, medicine, nursing and the social sciences. It should also be important reading for a wide range of health professionals and carers.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.36

  Experiencing and Explaining Disease examines the different accounts of disease causation produced by research in epidemiology, biology and sociology, and the different meanings attached to states of illness by doctors, patients and the media. It explores the ways in which prevailing social norms affect the status of the sick person, and seeks explanations for the stigmatisation that discriminates against people with certain conditions, while others are considered 'innocent victims' of disease. These themes are developed in five case studies of highly contrasting conditions: rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and AIDS, asthma, schizophrenia and chronic pain. These case studies illustrate the complex difficulties for lay people and professionals in explaining and managing the disease and the physical, social and emotional dimensions of the illness experience. This book will be an invaluable text for students of health studies, social work, social policy, the social sciences, medicine, nursing and other health professionals, and for a wide range of lay people, including patients and carers.