The DOI matches its Crossref record; 87 of the 87 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 28 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
The Social Construction of Illness: Key Insights and Policy Implications
Abstract
The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology. This article traces the roots of this perspective and presents three overarching constructionist findings. First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning—which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition—that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness. Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. We address central policy implications of each of these findings and discuss fruitful directions for policy-relevant research in a social constructionist tradition. Social constructionism provides an important counterpoint to medicine’s largely deterministic approaches to disease and illness, and it can help us broaden policy deliberations and decisions.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
This article reviews the social construction of illness perspective in medical sociology, tracing its roots and synthesizing three key findings: cultural meanings of illness, the socially constructed illness experience, and socially constructed medical knowledge. It argues these findings have policy implications and can broaden policy deliberations by countering medicine’s largely deterministic approaches.
Key findings
- Some illnesses carry cultural meanings not directly derived from biology, shaping social responses and the experience of illness; examples include stigmatized illnesses (e.g., epilepsy, HIV/AIDS), contested illnesses (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity), and disability as socially constructed. Policy implication: shift emphasis from biomedically fixing individuals toward changing the social and cultural context that gives illnesses negative meaning.
- All illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level: people enact illness, construct identity, and manage daily life. Research uses in-depth interviews and insider views; Charmaz describes how chronic illness can shrink worlds, and millions of American women identify as breast cancer survivors and activists. Policy implications include moving from “compliance” to context-centered strategies, using illness narratives in pain management, and addressing lay knowledge and illness identities.
- Medical knowledge is socially constructed by claims-makers and interested parties. Feminist, science studies, and medicalization research show how medical ideas can reproduce gender, class, and racial-ethnic inequality and how diagnoses and markets expand—e.g., male impotence was renamed “erectile dysfunction” in the late 1990s, the FDA approved Viagra in 1998, and Pfizer marketed it to a broader audience. Policy implication: critically examine how problems are framed, because definitions shape policy and can authorize social control.
Methods
- Design: conceptual/review article, not an empirical study; it traces intellectual roots and synthesizes constructionist literature over the last 50 years.
- Data/sample: no original data or sample; it draws on prior sociological, historical, and feminist scholarship and case examples.
- Analysis: organizes key findings under three themes—cultural meanings of illness, illness experience, and medical knowledge—then discusses policy implications and future research directions.
Limitations
- The paper states it does not showcase criticisms of social constructionism, though it acknowledges important critiques: that it may deny the natural world, ignore whether some ideas better represent the world, and reproduce a false binary between real and socially constructed (Hacking 1999). It also notes criticisms/limitations of the disease/illness distinction (Timmermans and Haas 2008) and states its amalgam approach “minimizes important differences between various types of social constructionism.”
- Evident from the text: as a review/essay, it presents no systematic review protocol, no empirical data, and no tested policy outcomes; policy implications are illustrative and drawn from cited literature rather than evaluated here.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
13 Sources not found · 3 Own interpretation · 3 No basis given · 2 No full text of the sources · 2 Not checked yet · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness.”
- Also stated in: § Illness Experience as Socially Constructed · p. 5 · plain
“Another key insight of constructionism is that the illness experience is socially constructed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Charmaz 1991
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Bury 1982 source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Illness Experience as Socially Constructed · p. 5 · plain
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties.”
- Also stated in: § Medical Knowledge as Socially Constructed · p. 7 · hedged
“Eliot Freidson (1970) was probably the first medical sociologist to articulate how medical knowledge is socially constructed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Freidson 1970
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Foucault 1977
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Medical Knowledge as Socially Constructed · p. 7 · hedged
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“The research of medical sociologists in the subfield of science studies also reveals how medical knowledge is conditioned by the social context in which it is developed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Joyce 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Timmermans 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Likewise, the engines of medicalization have expanded beyond medical professionals, social movements, and organizations to biotechnology, consumers, and the insurance industry.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“In an earlier book, Epstein (1996) similarly underscored the politics of knowledge by demonstrating how the science regarding the cause and treatment of HIV/AIDS is best understood as an amalgam that was constructed and contested by different constituencies (e.g., scientists, doctors, drug companies, patients, and activists) rather than the outcome of 'pure' science.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Even as this new paradigm offers potential tools for addressing nagging questions about health disparities-e.g., why do black women with breast cancer have higher mortality rates than their white counterparts?-it has the consequence of reifying the categories of race and gender as biological realities.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“In a recent book Epstein (2007) analyzes the emergence, beginning in the mid-1980s, of a new paradigm of biomedical research that proactively included individuals from underrepresented social groups (e.g., women and racial and ethnic minorities) in clinical studies, with an eye toward understanding the differences between groups with respect to disease processes and treatment outcomes.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Epstein explains how the knowledge it produces about race and gender are in part the outcome of social and political conflicts and negotiations, as opposed to essential truths found in nature.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Over the years, sociologists have shown that women's natural reproductive functions (e.g., pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation) are routinely medicalized (Barker 1998; Riessman 1983; Riska 2003).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Barker 1998 source
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Riessman 1983
- Not matchedcites Riska 2003
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“When medical perspectives increasingly define obesity as an illness (rather than a risk factor for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.), policies focus on solutions such as gastric bypass surgeries, rather than examining the role of product promotion by the food industry or the availability of healthy foods in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 7
- Probably not a substantial claim. 5
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning-which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition-that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness.”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 3 · plain
“certain illnesses have particular social or cultural meanings attributed to them. These meanings adhere to the illness and may have independent consequences on patients and health care.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Sontag 1978
- Partly supportedcites Barry et al. 2009 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The introductory discussion of illness metaphors and the “Reasoning by Metaphor” section show how meanings attached to health conditions shape public attitudes and policy responses. The “Obesity Metaphors” section also describes how people who are overweight may be treated badly in work and social settings. The paper does not establish the broader claim that such meanings are independent of a condition’s nature or generally shape the experience of illness. Page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 3 · plain
In the paper
“A social constructionist approach to illness is rooted in the widely recognized conceptual distinction between disease (the biological condition) and illness (the social meaning of the condition) (Eisenberg 1977).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Eisenberg 1977 source
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Contested illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and multiple chemical sensitivity are medically suspect because they are not associated with any known physical abnormality.”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
“contested illness sufferers are burdened by the cultural meaning of a medically invisible condition in an era of high-tech biomedicine”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Barker 2005
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Brown 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Kroll-Smith and Floyd 1997
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Because the attributes that are deemed disabilities, and the very meaning of being disabled, vary across time and space, disability cannot be reduced to a mere biological problem located in an individual's body”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
“the body has an impairment (e.g., loss of limb) while society creates the disability”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Barnes, Mercer, and Shakespeare 1999
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Oliver 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
In the paper
“there is nothing inherent about a condition that makes it stigmatizing; rather, it is the social response to the condition and some of its manifestations, or the type of individuals who suffer from it, that make a condition stigmatized”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Conrad 1987
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“The emphasis is on how meanings of phenomena do not necessarily inhere in the phenomena themselves but develop through interaction in a social context.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Berger and Luckman 1966
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“After all, any policy response to a problem is determined by how the problem is defined or framed in the first place.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Warnings about the risks of fetal alcohol syndrome effectively blame individual women and deflect attention away from the well-established links among class, race, and birth outcomes (Armstrong 2003).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Armstrong 2003
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Both the boundaries of the ED diagnosis and the markets for ED drugs expanded enormously (Conrad 2007).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Conrad 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“When the solution is to mandate that federally funded clinical studies include individuals from underrepresented subgroups, we inadvertently cast the problem as rooted in biological differences between racial and ethnic groups and downplay the role of socially structured inequalities (Epstein 2007).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“For example, Prempro, a widely prescribed hormone replacement drug, is just the latest in the ongoing effort to medically 'treat' menopausal 'symptoms,' despite the fact that changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Rests on an assumption: Changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Framing anger in women as evidence of the disease PMS, to be treated with antidepressants, trivializes the impact of gender inequality on women's daily lives.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
The paper relies on this without support.
Changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.
“despite the fact that changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There is a social predilection toward treating human problems as individual or clinical rather than addressing the underlying causes for complex social problems and human suffering.
“It seems that we have a social predilection toward treating human problems as individual or clinical—whether it be obesity, substance abuse, learning difficulties, aging, or alcoholism—rather than addressing the underlying causes for complex social problems and human suffering.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Compared to 50 years ago, physicians have experienced a relative decline in professional authority.
“Compared to 50 years ago, physicians have experienced a relative decline in professional authority.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Laypeople with illness have a greater voice, and there is greater recognition of that voice.
“Both reflecting and reinforcing this trend, laypeople with illness have a greater voice, and there is also greater recognition of that voice.”
Citations
Cites
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.
Tarbet, D. W., Foucault, M., & Sheridan, A. (1978) · Eighteenth-Century Studies · doi:10.2307/2737970 · Cited by 19,271
The social construction of reality : a treatise in the sociology of knowledge
Simpson, G., Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1967) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2091739 · Cited by 16,462
Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
(1969) · Postgraduate Medical Journal · doi:10.1136/pgmj.45.527.642 · Cited by 14,255
Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method.
Kanter, R. M., & Blumer, H. (1971) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2094060 · Cited by 9,898
Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates.
Pfautz, H. W., & Goffman, E. (1962) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2090043 · Cited by 8,308
(1963) · Cited by 5,261
Chronic illness as biographical disruption
Bury, M. (1982) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.ep11339939 · Cited by 3,960
The illness narratives: suffering, healing, and the human condition
Kleinman, A. (1988) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.26-0340 · Cited by 3,568
The Social Construction of What?
Dupré, J., & Hacking, I. (2000) · The Journal of Philosophy · doi:10.2307/2678463 · Cited by 3,443
The Wounded Storyteller: Body Illness, and Ethics
(1996) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/nm0196-98 · Cited by 3,025
Research works printed but not linked: 13
- 1995, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 34
- 1987, Research in the Sociology of Health Care, 6, 1
- 1993, The Atlantic, 272, 37
- 10.2307/799511 · DOI
- 1981, The Culture of Public Problems
- 2008, The Biopolitics of Breast Cancer
- 2001, Industrial Relations, 42, 11
- 2004, , Illness, and Medicine, 8, 33
- 1983, Social Policy, 14, 3
- 2003, Advances in Gender Research, 7, 61
- 2006, Politics of Life Itself: Biomedicine, Power and Subjectivity in the Twenty-First Century
- 1989, Epilepsy
- 1992, Social Science and Medicine, 12, 1352
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 601–700 of 888
Changing the Conversation: a Critical Ethnography of Diabetes Care in People with Mental Illnesses
Knyahnytska, Y. (2017) · TSpace (University of Toronto) · Cited by 1
Barry, L. (2016) · Memorial University Research Repository (Memorial University) · Cited by 1
Feminist Therapists: A Qualitative Exploration of Values and Practices within Context
Heafner, J. (2018) · OpenCommons - UConn (University of Connecticut) · Cited by 1
May, T. (2019) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) · Cited by 1
Exploring Health and Wellbeing in a Low-to-Middle Income Country: A Case Study of Kenya
Onyango, E. O. (2019) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo) · Cited by 1
Illicit Psychoactive Medication Use: Experiences of Medicalization and Normalization
Pawson, M. (2019) · CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York) · Cited by 1
Dobson, C. C. (2019) · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · Cited by 1
Le, M. T. H. (2020) · Queensland University of Technology · doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.201745 · Cited by 1
Ndaba, T. Y. (2020) · ResearchSpace (University of KwaZulu-Natal) · Cited by 1
The Politics of Securing Borders and the Identities of Disease
Taylor, R. C. R. (2013) · doi:10.1002/9781118553923.ch7 · Cited by 1
Fesmire, W. T. (2021) · Cited by 1
Integrating Service Delivery Systems for Persons with Severe Mental Illness
Cuddeback, G. S., & MORRISSEY, J. P. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.027 · Cited by 1
Kim, M. (2016) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17019578 · Cited by 1
“In the social constructivists’ view, perception is socially constructed through the process of interaction within a social context, and not a discovered concept (Conrad & Barker, 2010).”
BackgroundAmoozegar-Montero, A. (2024) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.25215968 · Cited by 1
Ghosh, H. (2013) · uO Research (University of Ottawa) · doi:10.20381/ruor-3047 · Cited by 1
“Literature reveals that medicalization of human health problems forces the health providers and policy makers to offer quick and medicalized fixes for what are really complex, multifaceted social problems (Conrad and Barker, 2010).”
BackgroundAdams, Z. (2015) · Vassar Scholarship (Vassar College)
Hoogstraaten, M. J. (2016) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
A Content Analysis of A&E's Hoarders
Redwine, S. J. (2013) · Digital Commons - East Tennessee State University (East Tennessee State University)
Mental health and health care utilization among transition age youth
Rowan, K. (2015) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota)
Att leva med en kropp som värker : samtal med fysioterapeuten
Afrell, M. (2014) · Linköping University Electronic Press eBooks · doi:10.3384/diss.diva-106748
“hur de upplevt sig försummade eller misstrodda av vårdpersonal (36, 143) vilket också kan leda till att de i sin tur misstror sina egna sinnen och sin förmåga att bedöma kroppens signaler och vad han eller hon tål.”
BackgroundŽydžiūnaitė, V. (2011) · doi:10.5200/142
“The emphasis is placed on the process of interaction between individuals, while through the qualitative data that was obtained; meaning is attributed to the experiences of the study participants [3, 9, 27].”
Ochieng, J. M. (2015) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona)
Limbrick, C. (2013) · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University)
PATIENT‘S ATTITUDE TOWARDS HEALTH INFORMATION FOUND ON INTERNET. ITS PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
Kuncaitė, G. (2011) · Lithuanian University of Health Sciences · doi:10.5200/139
Ikegwuonu, T. (2013) · Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling)
Launer, J. (2014) · Postgraduate Medical Journal · doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2014-132818
Canesqui, A. M. (2015) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/0102-311xre010215
Stoyanov, D. S., Hristov, J. I., Tornyova, B., et al. (2011) · The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine · doi:10.5750/ijpcm.v1i1.1
“experience − is another major focus of research in medical sociology, based on the social construction of illness and medical knowledge [10].”
BackgroundGreen in a Sea of Pink: Environmental Reframing of Mainstream Breast Cancer
Scanzillo, A. E. (2012)
Harder, B. M., University Of Miami, & Harder, B. M. (2013)
The Sociology of Medical Evaluation: Case Studies
Carrión, J. J. S. (2013) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja)
Andersson, T. E. (2012) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network)
Burnout – etwas mehr Klarheit im Begriffsdschungel
Gündel, H., Glaser, J., & Angerer, P. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-55303-5_8
Negotiating the ethics of trust and addiction in chronic pain management
Buchman, D. Z. (2014) · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · doi:10.14288/1.0103409
“As Conrad and Barker (2010) have pointed out, the patient experience is not necessarily the same as the illness experience.”
Cho, S., & Ahn, S.-H. (2015) · The Korean Journal of Policy Studies · doi:10.52372/kjps30304
Let's Move! Biocitizens and the Fat Kids on the Block
Dickman, M. C. (2015) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida)
Treiber, L. A., Markle, G. L., & Attell, B. K. (2015) · Illness Crisis & Loss · doi:10.1177/1054137315596693
“With the advent of the Internet, illness has become less private, as stories of pain, suffering, healing, and recovery are openly documented in various online platforms, thus opening new domains and territories for health scholars to explore (Conrad & Barker, 2010).”
BackgroundLegal Marriage, Civil Unions, Registered Domestic Partnership and Well-being among Same-Sex Couples
Schwenke, N. J. (2015) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Nover, C. H. (2015) · J. Willard Marriott Library · doi:10.26053/0h-9ge7-c1g0
Self-management strategies of cancer survivors: who does what and why? A mixed methods study
Shneerson, C. (2015) · University of Birmingham Institutional Research Archive (University of Birmingham)
The Turn to Practice in Medicine: Towards situated drug safety
Peddie, D. J. (2016) · Summit (Simon Fraser University)
The Right to Know or Not to Know: Risk Notification and Genetic Counselling
Gilson, A., Hemer, S. R., Chur‐Hansen, A., et al. (2015) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s1057-629020150000016009
Faith, Mental Health and Deviance: Possession or Illness?
Handsley, S. (2016) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/978-1-137-45620-5_5
The Attitudes of Healthcare Workers Towards ADHD in Kenya
Nyachuba, D. A. (2014)
John Foster Dulles, Illness, Masculinity and US Foreign Relations, 1953–1961
Sewell, B. (2016) · The International History Review · doi:10.1080/07075332.2016.1230768
Glauser, A. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-01455-1_34
Leadership approaches for effective technological change in community colleges
Goadrich, L. D. (2016) · doi:10.17760/d20207474
Criminalising Contagion – Questioning the Paradigm
Laird, K. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781316135631.011
Hickey, J. (2016) · Libraries and Cultural Resources (University of Calgary) · doi:10.11575/prism/28567
Potential futures: an ethnography of a familial cancer counselling and genetic testing unit
Gilson, A. (2015) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide)
Solomons, W. (2017) · University of Hertfordshire Research Archive (University of Hertfordshire) · doi:10.18745/th.17597
“There is increasing recognition that medical knowledge itself arises from a particular social context (Conrad & Barker, 2010), so even our understandings of disease - what qualifies as biological and is thus labelled - is socially contingent.”
BackgroundSeeking Understanding: A grounded theory examination of how men with cancer experience help seeking
Wenger, L. M. (2012) · The Atrium (University of Guelph)
Intergenerational experiences of young onset dementia: a qualitative longitudinal study
Bellass, S. (2016) · University of Salford Institutional Repository (University of Salford)
Peer, V. (2017) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida)
Power, Control and Surveillance
Ettorre, E. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60786-3_6
Warden, E. M. (2017) · SMARTech Repository (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Optimal Statistical Analysis Involving a Confounding Variable
Yarnold, P. R. (2015)
Collaboration Across Disciplines in a Private Practice Healthcare Setting
Rather, N. (2017) · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS)
The social construction of dyslexia in UK higher education
Campbell, S. C. (2017) · Sheffield Hallam University · doi:10.7190/shu-thesis-00039
Devereux, S. (2017) · Staff Publications Online (The Tavistock and Portman)
Price, S. (2016) · Lu Zone Ul (Laurentian University)
Schubert, T. T. (2020) · International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences · doi:10.17583/rimcis.2020.5296
MacKay, C. (2016) · TSpace (University of Toronto)
Tucker, L. A. (2017) · ResearchSpace (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Experiences of military culture and identity
Robinson, L. (2026) · Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) · doi:10.82444/warw.33750025
An exploration of diagnosis and illness experiences of women and men living with Celiac Disease
Horn, A. J. (2017) · IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) · doi:10.7912/c2/711
Schubert, T. T. (2018) · Hipatia Press (University of Barcelona) · doi:10.17583/rimcis.2018.3390
Murphy, J. W., & Franz, B. A. (2016) · Public Health Ethics · doi:10.1093/phe/phw041
Mental ill health in nursing and midwifery education : a critical discourse analysis
Hargan, J. M. (2017) · Bradford Scholars (University of Bradford)
診断のパラドックス——筋痛性脳脊髄炎／慢性疲労症候群及び線維筋痛症を患う人々における診断の効果と限界
那津子, 野. (2017) · 保健医療社会学論集 · doi:10.18918/jshms.27.2_77
The Norfolk condition management programme: a retrospective evaluation
Roberts, S. (2017) · UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia)
Sivhabu, V. (2017) · UpSpace Institutional Repository (University of Pretoria)
김희정, & Joonjong, S. (2017) · 교육사회학연구 · doi:10.32465/ksocio.2017.27.2.002
Volunteerism among Older Adults with Mobility-Limiting Disabilities: An Exploratory Study
Sellon, A. M. (2018) · KU ScholarWorks (The University of Kansas)
Out of Sorts: An intersectional analysis of disabled men's and women's workplace outcomes
Dick-Mosher, J. (2019) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech)
Schubert, T. T. (2018) · Hipatia Press (University of Barcelona) · doi:10.17583/rimcis.2018.3910
Schubert, T. T. (2018) · Hipatia Press (University of Barcelona) · doi:10.17583/rimcis.2018.3669
Beyond Being Physically Active: Culturing the Ageing Body
Budiman, Y., & Nilsson, K. (2018) · Lund University Publications Student Papers (Lund University)
Gender Perspectives in Health-Related Situation in Rural Bangladesh: A Microlevel Study
Akmam, W. (2019) · New frontiers in regional science: Asian perspectives · doi:10.1007/978-981-13-6268-2_5
Human enhancement: problems of definition and argumentation
Alichniewicz, A., & Michałowska, M. (2018) · Principia · doi:10.4467/20843887pi.17.007.9279
Quines normes? Una aproximació al debat sobre el concepte de malaltia mental
Ballesteros, V. (2019) · Quaderns de Filosofia · doi:10.7203/qfia.6.1.14820
Schubert, T. T. (2019) · Hipatia Press (University of Barcelona) · doi:10.17583/rimcis.2019.4215
Subsyndromal depression hos äldre äldre personer
Ludvigsson, M. (2018) · doi:10.3384/diss.diva-149814
“The Quest Narrative” Reconsidered:
NOJIMA, N. (2018) · Japanese Sociological Review · doi:10.4057/jsr.69.88
Schubert, T. T. (2019) · Hipatia Press (University of Barcelona)
Making Up and Caring for 'Autism's Child' in Ethiopia
Yilma, L. (2019) · uO Research (University of Ottawa) · doi:10.20381/ruor-23535
A Matter of Health and Safety: Science and the State in Texas Abortion Legislation
Kenney, A. M. (2019) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s1057-629020190000020015
Playing with Other People's Lives: A Critical Expansion for Pandemic
Condis (2019) · Resilience A Journal of the Environmental Humanities · doi:10.5250/resilience.7.1.0087
Imperial Medicine: An Ethnography of Immigrant Experiences after the Affordable Care Act
Jimenez, A. M. (2019) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota)
Metadata
- Authors
- Conrad, P., & Barker, K. K.
- Affiliations
- Brandeis University (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- ORCID
- Barker, Kristin K.
- Venue
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 1_suppl
- Pages
- S67-S79
- ISSN
- 0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
- 2150-6000
- OpenAlex
- W2105392510
- Semantic Scholar
- daba8e41984f917378dc8db2be9f01f2883d3625
- Cited by
- 888
- References
- 82
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 81 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 95 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 60 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 13.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative research in health
- Keywords
- social construction of illness, medical sociology, illness experience, claims-making, health policy, policy-relevant research
- MeSH terms
- Culture, Disease, Health Policy, Health Services Research, Humans, Public Opinion, Social Problems, Sociology, Medical, Knowledge
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-18, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-18 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
