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The medical model and other constructions of self‐neglect
Author(s) -
Lauder William
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of nursing practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1440-172X
pISSN - 1322-7114
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-172x.1999.00160.x
Subject(s) - neglect , medicalization , psychology , social psychology , psychiatry
Nurses frequently encounter patients who neglect their personal hygiene and household cleanliness. Self‐neglect is usually understood within the parameters of the medical model, with its need to objectify and categorize. The medicalization of self‐neglect obscures the fact that patients and professionals may have different ideas about what self‐neglect is and what it is not. This paper explores how the medical construction of self‐neglect has come to dominate the self‐neglect discourse and will also explore other possible ways of understanding self‐neglect.