Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Jan 1990
Biography Historical ArticleDoctors and the state: lessons from the Biko case.
The death of the well-known black leader, Steve Biko, in detention in South Africa in 1977 has continued to generate debate in the international medical literature. The three doctors who examined him during his terminal illness made a diagnosis of malingering in spite of overwhelming evidence suggesting that he had suffered extensive traumatic brain injury while in detention. ⋯ It is suggested that failures in the doctors' judgement were a result of complex influences including the effects of their own social conditioning, the risk of habituation by state doctors to degrading prison conditions, the inroads that Apartheid has made into medical practice, the possibility of reprisal if state doctors oppose the wishes of the police, and, more speculatively, the possibility that the doctors' obedience and passivity were exploited by the Security Police who wished to absolve themselves from responsibility of Biko's injuries. Most importantly, it is argued that the repeated failure of the major medical organizations in South Africa to provide clear guidance and leadership to state-employed doctors increases the risk that individual doctors will continue to succumb to hierarchical pressures to condone acts of state-sanctioned violence against detainees.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 1990
Are physicians' ratings of pain affected by patients' physical attractiveness?
The degree to which physical attractiveness and nonverbal expressions of pain influence physicians' perceptions of pain was investigated. Photographs of eight female university students were represented in four experimental conditions created by the manipulation of cosmetics, hairstyles, and facial expressions: (a) attractive-no pain, (b) attractive-pain, (c) unattractive-no pain, and (d) unattractive-pain. Each photograph was accompanied by a brief description of the patient's pain problem that was standard across conditions. ⋯ Unattractive patients, and patients who were expressing pain, were perceived as experiencing more pain, distress, and negative affective experiences than attractive patients and patients who were not expressing pain. Unattractive patients also received higher ratings of solicitude on the doctor's part and lower ratings of health than attractive patients. Physician's assessments of pain appear to be influenced by the physical attractiveness of the patient.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 1990
Review Comparative StudyInternational perspectives on treatment choice in neonatal intensive care units.
Over the past 25 years, neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have been established throughout the industrialized world and in some Third World nations to provide sophisticated medical interventions for critically ill newborns. This paper discusses the four major factors affecting treatment choices for newborns with disabilities or at risk for disabilities: the availability of resources, societal attitudes toward medical interventions and life with disabilities, the roles of physicians, parents and other decision-makers, and the role of the law. Much has been written on the bioethical issues surrounding such treatment as it is practiced in the United States, including analysis by social scientists; however, little has been written on how those issues are perceived and dealt with in most other nations, and very little comparative research has been conducted. ⋯ S. practice, which has received much attention, with a generalized commentary on practices in other parts of the world, which have received less examination. The nations surveyed include Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and West Germany. The value of further comparative research is discussed in order to encourage others to do such research.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 1990
ReviewA model of empathic understanding and adherence to treatment regimens in practitioner-patient relationships.
Empathic understanding in practitioner relationships is postulated as necessary for adherence to therapeutic regimens. It is considered to be one of the most important practitioner relationship skills leading ultimately to patient health benefit. Research literature from a wide-range of health disciplines including personality theory, social psychology, psychotherapy, psycho-analysis, and practitioner-patient communication highlights the key role of empathic processes in personal health care. ⋯ The model addresses theoretical relationships between practitioners' empathic understanding, patients' knowledge of their illness and motivation to get better, adherence to treatment advice, and outcome. Recent work on the selection and training of medical and nursing staff in empathic skills is reviewed. A number of areas for future research are outlined including the effect of individual practitioner differences in the components of empathy, empathic compatibility in practitioner-patient dyads, fluctuations in levels of practitioner empathy during long-term care, specific practitioner behaviours which communicate empathy, and the relationship between factors of patient satisfaction and the perception of empathic understanding.