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Exploring the neglected and hidden dimensions of large‐scale healthcare change
Author(s) -
Jones Lorelei,
Fraser Alec,
Stewart Ellen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.12923
Subject(s) - orthodoxy , scale (ratio) , relevance (law) , sociology of health and illness , sociology , health care , epistemology , social science , positive economics , political science , economics , geography , law , philosophy , cartography , archaeology
Forms of large‐scale change, such as the regiona l re‐distribution of clinical services, are an enduring reform orthodoxy in health systems of high‐income countries. The topic is of relevance and importance to medical sociology because of the way that large‐scale change significantly disrupts and transforms therapeutic landscapes, relationships and practices. In this paper we review the literature on large‐scale change. We find that the literature is dominated by competing forms of knowledge, such as health services research, and show how sociology can contribute new and critical perspectives and insights on what is for many people a troubling issue.