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Illness behaviour: a selective review and synthesis
Author(s) -
Young J.T.
Publication year - 2004
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.1467-9566.2004.00376.x
Subject(s) - sociology of health and illness , subject (documents) , psychology , health care , sociology , social psychology , computer science , political science , library science , law
Sociologists have researched the subject of illness behaviour for more than five decades. Recently the discussion has taken on new importance because of changes in the delivery of health care and the emergence of patients’ rights and increased patient knowledge of medicine. Through a selective review of the literature on illness behaviour, the paper aims to show that singular and segmented approaches to illness behaviour have not clearly elucidated the complexity of the phenomenon. A more comprehensive and structured analysis of illness behaviour can be accomplished with mixed qualitative and hierarchical/structural quantitative techniques. Following a discussion of prior research in social psychology, demography, economics, social networks and geographic systems, this paper offers a template for future analysis of illness behaviour.