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Cited by 78Consumer behavior in food and healthEthics and bioethics in healthcareHealth, Medicine and Society

Governing the ethical consumer: identity, choice and the primary care medical encounter

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McDonald, Ruth, Mead, Nicola, Cheraghi‐Sohi, Sudeh, Bower, Peter, Whalley, Diane, Roland, Martin·2007·Sociology of Health & Illness
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.00493.x
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Abstract

Government policy promoting consumerism in healthcare can be seen as offering up certain preferred identities to which its citizens are encouraged to aspire. Whilst many commentators reject the notion that health services users should be conceived of as consumers, this paper outlines the relevance of the concept to our understanding of the ways in which individuals manage their health and service use. The paper examines the identity work undertaken by individuals in relation to decisions about healthcare preferences and assesses the extent to which this is compatible with the identities promoted in Government policy. We suggest that in circumstances where individuals feel both a sense of personal entitlement and a desire to be supportive of the needs of other members of the community, ‘doing’ ethical consumer can be fraught with discomfort and anxiety. These anxieties are exacerbated in a context where citizenship is increasingly being defined in terms of consumer identities, and making good (health) choices might be seen as distinguishing the civilised from the marginalised.

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  • Patients are expected to use the Internet and social media to share experiences of health with peers and to access information sources in order to manage their health, and develop some form of expertise in their condition.

    “Today, patients are expected to use the Internet and social media to share experiences of health with peers and to access information sources in order to manage their health, and develop some form of expertise in their condition (Griffiths et al., 2012;McDonald et al., 2007).”

    From The Cultivation of Digital Health Citizenship (2021) · cites this paper as McDonald et al., 2007

    The 'Empowerment as governmentality' section describes an expectation that patients take responsibility for managing their health, including through the Expert Patient Programme. 'Citizenship, healthcare and the ethical consumer' discusses approved health-information sources. Neither section supports the more specific claim that patients are expected to use the Internet or social media to share experiences with peers. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Irvine, R. (2002) Fabricating health consumers in health care politics. In Henderson, S. and Petersen, A. (eds) Consuming Health: the Commodification of Health Care. London: Routledge.

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Authors
McDonald, R., Mead, N., Cheraghi‐Sohi, S., Bower, P., Whalley, D., & Roland, M.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
Corresponding author
McDonald, Ruth
ORCID
Venue
Sociology of Health & Illness
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2007-04
Volume
29
Issue
3
Pages
430-456
ISSN
  • 0141-9889 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9566
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.00493.x
OpenAlex
W2108152629
Cited by
78
References
82
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2024: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
FWCI
20.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 25 d)
Locations
  • Sociology of Health & Illness (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
  • DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Princeton University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Consumer behavior in food and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
Keywords
ethical consumption, consumer identity, primary care, healthcare encounters, health care choice, health care utilization, government health policy, citizenship, identity work, consumerism in health care
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Attitude to Health, Choice Behavior, Consumer Behavior, Female, Government, United Kingdom, Health Policy, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Primary Health Care, Residence Characteristics, Sociology, Medical, Patient Satisfaction, Personal Autonomy, Patient Rights

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