Mutuality in health care: review, concept analysis and ways forward

Abstract

The sociologically nuanced account of mutuality advanced here sensitises us to questions of power and domination, as well as enabling us to see mutuality in terms of networks of relationships instead of merely an interpersonal phenomenon. This enables practitioners to enhance clients' and their own capacity for mutuality and develop effective resources to increase resilience and recovery.

Perspectives on power relations in human health and well-being

“…Global health—like the arts, law, and medicine—is a social arena with specific rules, but one where people hold unequal positions (Shiffman, 2015). In the area of healthcare, providers have more power and expertise than clients (Brown, 2016), and in contexts that incorporate older people, unequal power relations are common (Eliassen, 2016). There are also aspects of power involved in the relationship between the researcher and the participant in both quantitative and qualitative research.…”

“…Social capital, including relationships, networks, and available resources, is an essential aspect of power that people need in order to manage their lives. The perspective of social capital as a resource in a person’s life might enable new ways of empowering people (Brown, 2016). Jonsson, Larsson, Berg, Korp, and Lindgren (2017) investigate factors that undermine healthy habits with regard to exercise and diet among adolescents in a disadvantaged community.…”

“…Empowerment includes a positive self-identity and an ability to interact with other people (Kuokkanen & Leino-Kilpi, 2000). Interactions with other people incorporate power relations and establish ways of getting things done (Brown, 2016). Empowered persons experience themselves as capable persons; for example, they feel they have the power to do things in a good, effective, and constructive way (Kuokkanen & Leino-Kilpi, 2000), and this includes areas such as health and well-being.…”

How do Elite Doctors Respond to Tensions in Hybrid Healthcare Organizations?

“…This hybridization process has involved the cumulative effect of multiple logics available to organizations and professionals, which have been layered, one on top of another, during four time periods in the UK NHS system (Bevan et al, 2014 (Brown, 2016).…”

“…Scotland. As we noted earlier mutuality refers to a wider political discourse that has begun to dominate the healthcare agenda in Scotland, which seeks to rebalance the relationships between those who use services with those who provide them (Brown, 2016;Howieson, 2016). Thus, despite a strong theme running through the interviews concerning the negative effects of a political-democratic logic on consultant identities, we found little evidence of a perceived loss of status among consultants in terms of the nature of esteem and respect they experienced from patients.…”