Del hospital de pobres a la cultura hospitalo-céntrica. Economía política y cambio cultural en el sistema hospitalario catalán / From the poor hospital to the hospital-centric culture. Political economy and cultural change in the Catalan hospital system

This article describes the evolution of the Catalan Health System, using the development of a key cultural concept ?hospital-centrism? to understand the hegemony of the hospital institution in the current health devices. To this purpose, and using two complementary perspectives such as anthropological history and medical anthropology, the article analyzes a case study from three examples: the demand for hospital emergencies related with a cultural conception of what is ?severe?, and with its effectiveness embodied by the citizens; the need of the asylum role in chronic or terminal diseases; and the transformation of domestic care to ?domestic hospitalization? in mental health cases. Keywords: hospital-centrism, health system, history of hospitals, emergencies, chronic care, mental health