| On remedicalisation: male circumcision in the United States and Great Britain. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20604880 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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This paper compares the histories of male circumcision in the United States and Great Britain to explicate the theoretically important, yet inadequately specified, processes of demedicalisation and remedicalisation. Circumcision became medicalised to a similar extent, through similar processes, in both countries before World War II. However, by the 1960s, circumcision was almost completely demedicalised in Britain and almost universal in the US, where it became partially demedicalised after the 1970s. Medical professionals and insurance/healthcare systems drove demedicalisation in both countries; in the US, grassroots activists also played a critical role, while medical community 'holdovers' and parents resisted demedicalisation. Recent research linking circumcision to HIV prevention and deaths following religious circumcision are differentially likely to produce remedicalisation in the two nations, given differences in circumcision prevalence, HIV epidemiology, insurance/health systems, activism opportunities, and status of religious groups. Research on (de/re)medicalisation should theorise the life cycle of medicalisation, explore comparative cases, and attend more closely to medical holdovers from previous eras, prevalence and duration of medicalised practices, and barriers to promoting non-medical interpretations. |
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Authors:
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Laura M Carpenter |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Sociology of health & illness Volume: 32 ISSN: 1467-9566 ISO Abbreviation: Sociol Health Illn Publication Date: 2010 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-07-07 Completed Date: 2010-11-01 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8205036 Medline TA: Sociol Health Illn Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 613-30 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. l.carpenter@vanderbilt.edu |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Circumcision, Male
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history*,
utilization Great Britain / epidemiology HIV Infections / epidemiology, prevention & control Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice History, 20th Century Humans Male Religion and Medicine* United States / epidemiology |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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