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Cited by 1,074Health, Medicine and SocietyMedicine, History, and PhilosophyMedical Research and Practices

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 54 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Shifting Engines of Medicalization

Conrad, Peter·2005·Journal of Health and Social Behavior
DOI 10.1177/002214650504600102
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Abstract

Social scientists and other analysts have written about medicalization since at least the 1970s. Most of these studies depict the medical profession, interprofessional or organizational contests, or social movements and interest groups as the prime movers toward medicalization. This article contends that changes in medicine in the past two decades are altering the medicalization process. Using several case examples, I argue that three major changes in medical knowledge and organization have engendered an important shift in the engines that drive medicalization: biotechnology (especially the pharmaceutical industry and genetics), consumers, and managed care. Doctors are still gatekeepers for medical treatment, but their role has become more subordinate in the expansion or contraction of medicalization. Medicalization is now more driven by commercial and market interests than by professional claims-makers. The definitional center of medicalization remains constant, but the availability of new pharmaceutical and potential genetic treatments are increasingly drivers for new medical categories. This requires a shift in the sociological focus examining medicalization for the twenty-first century.

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Citations

Cites

Show all 55 references

Research works printed but not linked: 18

  1. British Medical Journal. 2002. Special Issue on Medicalization. 234(7342): 859 926
  2. Carpiano Richard M., 2001, Sociological Symposium, 21, 441
  3. Conrad, Peter and Deborah Potter., 2000, Social Problems, 47, 59
  4. Freidson Eliot, 1970, Profession of Medicine.
  5. Freudenheim Milt, 2004, New York Times, A9
  6. Goode Erica, 2002, New York Times, A21
  7. Grady Denise, 2003, New York Times, D1
  8. Hartley Heather, 2003, Women's Studies Quarterly, 31, 42
  9. Healy David, 1998, The Anti-depressant Era.
  10. Illich Ivan, 1975, Medical Nemesis.
  11. Inlander Charles B., 1998, Social Policy, 28, 40
  12. Koerner Brendan I., 2002, Mother Jones, 27, 58
  13. Light Donald W, 1993, The Changing Medical Profesion: An International Perspective, 69
  14. Marino Vivian, 2002, New York Times, 4
  15. Relman Arnold S., 2002, New Republic, 27
  16. Schulz Kathryn, 2004, New York Times Magazine, 38
  17. Szasz Thomas, 1970, Manufacture of Madness.
  18. Tuller David, 2004, New York Times, F1

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Metadata

Authors
Conrad, P.
Affiliations
Brandeis University (US)
Corresponding author
Conrad, Peter
Venue
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2005-03
Volume
46
Issue
1
Pages
3-14
ISSN
  • 0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
  • 2150-6000
DOI
10.1177/002214650504600102
OpenAlex
W2089325836
Cited by
1,074
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 53 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 65 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 88 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 52 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 62
FWCI
44.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Medical Terminology › Medical Research and Practices
Keywords
medicalization, pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, managed care, consumer health, medical knowledge, medical organizations, commercialization of medicine, medical categories, gatekeeping, medical profession
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Biotechnology, Consumer Advocacy, Delivery of Health Care, Drug Industry, Humans, Managed Care Programs, United States, Gatekeeping

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