An Examination of the Biomedical Paradigm: A View of Social Work

Ashcroft, Rachelle; Katwyk, Trish Van

doi:10.1080/19371918.2015.1087918

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…While some researchers may never have thought of photovoice as an arts-based method, others may intentionally eschew this descriptor because they recognize its potential drawbacks for uptake and dissemination in health fields. Still dominated by the biomedical paradigm, health and medical institutions often reflect an positivist epistemology that assumes quantitative methods provide superior data (Ashcroft & Van Katwyk, 2016). In such a paradigm, scholars who do any form of qualitative research often find themselves defending their work against accusations of bias or value-laden interpretation (Opsal et al, 2016;Padgett, 2009).…”

Section: Epistemology and Credibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reframing Photovoice: Building on the Method to Develop More Equitable and Responsive Research Practices

Golden

2020

Qual Health Res

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An increasing focus on health equity across a number of health disciplines is generating more consistent prioritizations of trauma-informed approaches, cultural responsiveness, and community engagement. These foci have heightened interest in photovoice as a participatory research method—particularly in research among vulnerable populations or related to sensitive topics. Photovoice’s ballooning popularity can be traced in part to the alignment of its aims and practices with broad health equity goals; at the same time, its singular status reveals a lack of similarly creative, adaptive methods for use in vulnerable or sensitive contexts. In addition, photovoice is not without its concerning limitations, and its increasing usage warrants not only caution, but responsive innovation. To that end, this article draws on the extensive photovoice literature, as well as on the author’s own work at the intersections of public health and the arts, to offer an overview of four photovoice limitations and related concerns. It then highlights the method’s untapped potential by identifying under-researched qualities in need of development—noting these as opportunities to learn from (and further adapt) the photovoice method. Finally, the article pulls limitations and benefits together to frame photovoice as a basis for the continued innovation, study, and development of more equitable approaches to health research and practice.

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Section: Epistemology and Credibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reframing Photovoice: Building on the Method to Develop More Equitable and Responsive Research Practices

Golden

2020

Qual Health Res

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“…One of the implicit expectations of a biomedical paradigm is that HCPs are expected to possess the knowledge and ability to cure disease (37). Illich (38) argues that the medicalization of illness within a biomedical paradigm has the iatrogenic effect that people "lose the personal ability to cope with reality as a result of their gain in healthcare" (38); that a medically harmful effect happens to the individual if others take over responsibility for their health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communicating and diagnosing non-specific low back pain: A qualitative study of the healthcare practitioners’ perspectives using a social diagnosis framework

Lund¹,

Kongsted²,

Hansen³

et al. 2020

J Rehabil Med

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When presenting with persistent low back pain, more than 9 out of 10 patients cannot be given a structural cause of their symptoms. These individuals receive a diagnosis of non-specific low-back pain, which does little to inform them about the type of problem they have or how it might be remedied. This study used a social diagnosis framework, which considers multiple factors in relation to illness, to explore how physiotherapists, chiropractors and general practitioners might help us to identify a diagnosis (i.e. a label and the meaning we bring to it) alternative to non-specific low back pain. The aim being to enable better communication with patients about their condition. The study found that healthcare practitioners consider multiple biopsychosocial factors relevant to the condition, they consider it important to help patients make sense of their condition, and to engage patients in dealing with individual contributors to pain. Healthcare practitioners did not consider a new diagnostic label for non-specific low back pain to be a priority for their own practice. Background: There is general agreement that nonspecific low back pain is best understood within a biopsychosocial understanding of health. How ever, clinicians and patients seemingly adhere to a biomedical model, which may introduce misperceptions of pain and does not inform treatment or prognosis. Objective: To explore, from the perspective of health care practitioners, how persistent nonspecific low back pain may be communicated in a way that moves beyond a biomedical diagnosis. Design: An explorative qualitative investigation using a constructivist diagnostic framework. Methods: Focus group and individual interviews of 10 purposefully selected chiropractors, physiotherapists and general practitioners were codified and thematically analysed. Results: Four themes emerged: "Clinicians' nuanced understanding of back pain"; "The challenges of shared decision-making"; "Cultural barriers to moving beyond biomedicine"; and "More than a label-individual explanations for pain". Pain and disability were perceived as products of multiple bio-psychosocial factors. Clinicians identified the impact of multiple social actors, an unhealthy work culture, and the organization of the medical system on the notion of pain and suffering. Conclusion: Clinicians perceived a need to communicate the complexity of non-specific low back pain in order to help patients make sense of their condition, rather than applying diagnostic labelling. There are multiple barriers to integrating a constructivistic diagnostic framework into clinical practice that need to be overcome.

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“…Appreciating the potential impact of pre-determined codes and knowledge structures can be beneficial for social work practitioners, especially those who work with over-scrutinised and/or erased communities and individuals. When practitioners activate dominant codes, moral obligations and internalised norms, their capacity for open engagement, empowering encounter and deep empathy may be diminished (Ashcroft & Van Katwyk, 2016;Chambon, 1999). As a result, their practice can become oppressive in their problem-focussed understanding, and locked into a generalised narrative that objectifies rather than subjectifies the people they are intending to support.…”

Section: Original Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Embodied interpretation: Assessing the knowledge produced through a dance-based inquiry

Seko

Katwyk

2016

ANZSWJ

Self Cite

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INTRODUCTION:Although the field of social work has experienced an exponential increase in the use of arts-based methodology, the way in which knowledge shared through artful presentations is understood by audience members remains understudied. As arts-based inquiry often involves active co-construction of meanings between researchers, participants and audiences, it is crucial for social work researchers to scrutinise the process of meaning making by audience members. In this article, we explore how audience members make sense of research findings presented through improvisational dance and how the provision of information about the dance may influence viewer responses. METHODS:A personal experience with self-injury documented in a creative poem was represented through the performance of improvisational dance pieces and assessed by two groups of viewers, with and without knowledge of the topic of the dances. The viewers were prompted to interpret the dances by reflecting on the feelings, thoughts and perceptions they had while watching the performance. A thematic analysis was conducted to compare and contrast the responses of the two groups FINDINGS: By comparing the interpretations of informed and uninformed viewers, we suggest that interpretation can be influenced by normative, socially constructed assumptions that hinder empathic and action-inspiring engagement. CONCLUSION:We conclude the article with a discussion of potential implications for social work research, practice and education.

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An Examination of the Biomedical Paradigm: A View of Social Work

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Reframing Photovoice: Building on the Method to Develop More Equitable and Responsive Research Practices

Reframing Photovoice: Building on the Method to Develop More Equitable and Responsive Research Practices

Communicating and diagnosing non-specific low back pain: A qualitative study of the healthcare practitioners’ perspectives using a social diagnosis framework

Embodied interpretation: Assessing the knowledge produced through a dance-based inquiry

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