How to distinguish medicalization from over-medicalization?

Abstract

Is medicalization always harmful? When does medicine overstep its proper boundaries? The aim of this article is to outline the pragmatic criteria for distinguishing between medicalization and over-medicalization. The consequences of considering a phenomenon to be a medical problem may take radically different forms depending on whether the problem in question is correctly or incorrectly perceived as a medical issue. Neither indiscriminate acceptance of medicalization of subsequent areas of human existence, nor criticizing new medicalization cases just because they are medicalization can be justified. The article: (i) identifies various consequences of both well-founded medicalization and over-medicalization; (ii) demonstrates that the issue of defining appropriate limits of medicine cannot be solved by creating an optimum model of health; (iii) proposes four guiding questions to help distinguish medicalization from over-medicalization. The article should foster a normative analysis of the phenomenon of medicalization and contribute to the bioethical reflection on the boundaries of medicine.

Understanding abortion-related complications in health facilities: results from WHO multicountry survey on abortion (MCS-A) across 11 sub-Saharan African countries

“…The use of both uterotonic and uterine evacuation may be a reflection of overmedicalization due to possible provider preference and practice rather than evidence-based recommendations. 37 This is particularly important among mild complications presenting with vaginal bleeding that may have been due to medical abortion use prior to the facility. The management of abortion-related complications using safe and low-cost technologies, such as MVA, which is the recommended method of uterine evacuation regardless of severity, 3 is on the rise across countries in our study; however, the use of non-recommended and unsafe methods such as D&C still persists.…”

Effect of Supplementation with Saccharomyces Boulardii on Academic Examination Performance and Related Stress in Healthy Medical Students: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Fourthly, it cannot be expected that the postulated effect lasts long following supplementation completion as Saccharomyces boulardii has the ability to survive in healthy human intestines no more than a few days [70]. Fifthly, the results should not be interpreted as a stimulus for pharmacological management of stress to not induce overmedicalization [75]. Instead, effective coping strategies together with psychological interventions should be encouraged.…”

Fear of panoptic surveillance: using digital technology to control the COVID-19 epidemic

“…While the occurrence of the epidemic produced an extreme form of panoptic-surveillance, this term can contribute to clarifying processes that play out also in other less dramatic times. It can usefully be applied to the vast body of research on medicalization, such as studies on the distinction between medicalization and over-medicalization (e.g., [ 13 ]); research on the use of personalized medicine and digital technologies (e.g., [ 23 ]); and studies informed by critical social and cultural theory concerning the use of mobile and wearable health technologies, digital devices, and associated apps, websites, and platforms seeking to promote preventive medicine and public health (e.g., [ 17 , 21 ]). The present study also has practical implications as a preliminary exploratory research project that addresses the willingness of citizens to cooperate with their government’s measures in times of widespread and global crisis such as a pandemic.…”