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Trajectories, biographies and the evolving medical technology scene: labor and delivery and the intensive care nursery
Author(s) -
Wiener Carolyn,
Strauss Anselm,
Fagerhaugh Shizuko,
Suczek Barbara
Publication year - 1979
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/j.1467-9566.1979.tb00189.x
Subject(s) - dehumanization , variety (cybernetics) , currency , intensive care , service (business) , quality (philosophy) , business , medical care , public relations , computer science , medicine , marketing , nursing , political science , economics , artificial intelligence , epistemology , law , intensive care medicine , philosophy , monetary economics
Summary This paper is about the complexities of understanding the medical technology scene. A variety of attacks and defences on and of this scene — largely simplistic and encapsulated in catchwords and phrases like ‘dehumanization,’‘rising hospital costs, ‘quality of life’‐ have gained currency. There is a need to recognize the complexities stemming from medical technology, but also to find explanatory patterns. This paper uses the labor and delivery ward and the intensive care nursery (ICN) in the service of illuminating these complexities and patterns.