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The ethics and politics of patient‐physician mistrust in contemporary China
Author(s) -
Yan Yunxiang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
developing world bioethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.398
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1471-8847
pISSN - 1471-8731
DOI - 10.1111/dewb.12155
Subject(s) - commodification , dignity , politics , context (archaeology) , china , medical ethics , commercialization , disadvantage , public relations , sociology , political science , social psychology , environmental ethics , psychology , law , paleontology , philosophy , economics , market economy , biology
Focusing on the shared sense of victimization and disadvantage‐ness by both patients and doctors/medical workers in cases of medical conflicts, this paper aims to examine the current patient‐doctor tensions in the larger context of moral transformation in Chinese society since the 1980s. Although the decline of public trust in certain aspects is closely associated with the impact of commodification and commercialization of medical sector during the past two decades, other factors play important role as well. In the case of patient‐doctor tension, mutual disrespect and mistrust also result from the ongoing process of individualization and the remaking of moral self, in which the individual demand for respect, dignity, and trust seem to have unexpectedly and ironically contributed to the rise of tensions and conflicts between patients and doctors as well as other medical workers.