Document Detail


The practice of medical technology.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  14498932     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In this article, we review 25 years of sociological scholarship published in Sociology of Health and Illness on medical technologies. We divide the literature into three theoretical perspectives: technological determinism views medical technology as a political force to shape social relationships, social essentialism emphasizes how medical technologies are neutral tools to be interpreted in social interactions, and technology-in-practice highlights the dialectic relationship between technology and its users in health care. While the technology-in-practice orientation allows social scientists to critique the high hopes and dire warnings embedded in medical technologies, we argue that the logical next step of this paradigm is to move beyond criticism and influence the creation and implementation of medical technologies.
Authors:
Stefan Timmermans; Marc Berg
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Sociology of health & illness     Volume:  25     ISSN:  0141-9889     ISO Abbreviation:  Sociol Health Illn     Publication Date:  2003  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2003-09-22     Completed Date:  2003-10-24     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8205036     Medline TA:  Sociol Health Illn     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  97-114     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Brandeis University, MS 071 Waltham, MA 02454-9110, USA. Timmermans@brandeis.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Bibliometrics*
Humans
Periodicals as Topic*
Professional Practice*
Sociology, Medical*
Technology, Medical*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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