Beskrivelse
Introducing the symposia ‘Understanding social inequalities in health through the analysis of individual and inter-sectoral rehabilitation trajectories’, BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference 2016The purpose of this symposia is to present and discuss research from the ongoing network project 'Professions, legitimacy and evidence in transforming health and welfare organizations'. It’s acronym, Phlegethon corresponds to the name of one of the rivers of fire in the infernal regions of the underworld in Greek mythology. We use it to allude to the critical undercurrents in modern society, cutting across and hence affecting all areas of the welfare state. Hence, in the project we have an interest in what Pierre Bourdieu has pointed out as structural homologies between fields.
In the post-industrial society, individually ‘possessed’ health assets seem evermore critical in maintaining and improving ones’ social position. In the health field itself – as it has been pointed out by Jane Shim – patients demonstrating a healthy lifestyle are likely to obtain a better interaction with health professionals hereby unlocking better services. The case of physical and vocational rehabilitation of patients with incurred brain injuries lends itself to the analysis of such processes. First, patients come from all parts of society, bringing different types of resources (including personal social networks) into the process. Second, the field is spanning the sectors of health and work and welfare, allowing one to see how conceptionalizations of health and work may differ in the different institutions involved and how they may differ in valuing various ‘qualities’ of the patients.
This symposium comprises four presentations, and a group discussion. Co-organizer, Anette Hindhede, starts out presenting her study on social networks of individuals with severe traumatic brain injury and how it impacts on the patients’ well-being. This presentation is followed by Per Koren Solvang’s presentation of how brain injured people and their professional service providers conduct biographical reconstructions. Next, we set the stage for two PhD candidates. Rikke Guldager has analyzed the strategies of well-positioned groups of rehabilitation patients, those with higher education, in terms of ‘negotiating’ the health care system. Ole Kristian Sandnes Haavold, on the other hand, has studied the strategies of the work and welfare bureaucracy in bringing about change in the motivation and aspiration of rehabilitation patients in order to promote their reintegration into the world of work.
The research presented today reflects on how individual rehabilitation trajectories may be impacted by the patients’ resources (health related capital, cultural capital and social capital). Furthermore, research is presented that focuses on the institutional logics dominating the different sectors involved. The projects are undertaken in Denmark and Norway. While approximating a welfare model committed to equality, the two countries are both seeing rising social inequalities in health.
| Periode | 9 sep. 2016 |
|---|---|
| Begivenhedstype | Konference |
| Placering | Birmingham, StorbritannienVis på kort |
| Grad af anerkendelse | International |