Papers by Annemarie Jutel
The moment at which a person receives a life-threatening diagnosis
is replete with drama. The lif... more The moment at which a person receives a life-threatening diagnosis
is replete with drama. The life-altering impact of putting a name to disease preoccupies clinicians and social scientists, but also infuses creative work. This paper describes the use of the diagnostic moment in fiction. Using Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Anna Funder’s All That I Am, Arthur Hailey’s The Final Diagnosis, Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife, and myriad others, I show how diagnosis is variably the subject, the trigger, and the frame for narratives. It is a characterization device as well as a tool for defining right and wrong, morality and truth. But it is also a means by which we can “imagine” diagnosis, ahead of any experience of illness, and give meaning to what a serious diagnosis may mean in the life of an individual.
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Social Science & Medicine, 2015
More than 100,000 mobile phone software applications (&am... more More than 100,000 mobile phone software applications ('apps') have been designed for the dissemination of health and medical information and healthcare and public health initiatives. This article presents a critical analysis of self-diagnosis smartphone apps directed at lay people that were available on the Apple App Store and Google Play in mid-April 2014. The objective of the analysis is to contribute to the sociology of diagnosis and to critical digital health studies by investigating the phenomenon of digitised diagnosis via apps. We adopted a perspective that views apps as sociocultural artefacts. Our analysis of self-diagnosis apps suggests that they inhabit a contested and ambiguous site of meaning and practice. We found that app developers combined claims to medical expertise in conjunction with appeals to algorithmic authority to promote their apps to potential users. While the developers also used appeals to patient engagement as part of their promotional efforts, these were undermined by routine disclaimers that users should seek medical advice to effect a diagnosis. More research is required to investigate how lay people are negotiating the use of these apps, the implications for privacy of their personal data and the possible effects on the doctor-patient relationship and medical authority in relation to diagnosis.
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The Australasian medical journal, 2014
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Identities, commodities and the politics of representation, 2004
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Social Science & Medicine, 2010
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The Journal of Popular Culture, 2009
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Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2007
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Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue, Mar 22, 2011
This is me, I'm six years old. It'sa long time ago and I'm standing in a sack in t... more This is me, I'm six years old. It'sa long time ago and I'm standing in a sack in the middle of a field and trying to remember what happens in this world. It'sa long time ago but not so long that I can't remember. I remember everything. The field is green, it's hot, too hot and lines are marked on it in white–lines which you can see from far away but when you get up close they barely seem to be there. It'sa puzzle for a person to work out, this map drawn on the world.
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Objective: To evaluate the beliefs about, and discursive construction of, self-diagnosis from a m... more Objective: To evaluate the beliefs about, and discursive construction of, self-diagnosis from a medical perspective.
Design: Thematic review.
Data sources: Articles from clinical journals in the PubMed database discussing self-diagnosis.
Results: Thirty-nine articles were included in this study. Of those, 31% (n=12) found self-diagnosis to be reliable and desirable; 23% (n=9) found it to be unreliable, yet to be sought after, and 28% (n=11) found it neither reliable, nor desirable. The remainder of the sample (n=6) had mixed views, including two articles which despite finding self-diagnosis to be reliable, refuted nonetheless its desirability.
Conclusions: The predictive value of self-diagnosis is not the only factor in that medical researchers consider when determining its desirability. Self-diagnosis presents complex challenges to both the doctor and the patient, as it simultaneously threatens medical authority, and strengthens the potential for self-care, compliance and convenience.
Keywords: Self-diagnosis; sociology of diagnosis; self-care.
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Diagnoses are the classification tools of medicine, and are pivotal in the ways medicine exerts i... more Diagnoses are the classification tools of medicine, and are pivotal in the ways medicine exerts its role in society. Their sociological study is commonly subsumed under the rubrics of medicalisation, history of medicine and theory of disease.
Diagnosis is, however, a powerful social tool, with unique features and impacts which deserve their own specific analysis. The process of diagnosis provides the framework within which medicine operates, punctuates the values which medicine
espouses, and underlines the authoritative role of both medicine and the doctor. Diagnosis takes place at a salient juncture between illness and disease, patient and doctor, complaint and explanation. Despite calls for its establishment, almost two decades ago (Brown 1990), there is not yet a clear sociology of diagnosis. This paper argues that there should be, and, as a first step, draws together a number of threads of medical sociology that potentially contribute to this
proposed sociology of diagnosis, including the place of diagnosis in the institution of medicine, the social framing of disease definitions, the means by which diagnosis confers authority to medicine, and how that authority is challenged.
Through this preliminary review, I encourage sociology to consider the specific role of diagnosis in view of establishing a specific sub-disciplinary field.
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An increasing number of smartphone and software
applications ( “ apps ” ) have been developed and... more An increasing number of smartphone and software
applications ( “ apps ” ) have been developed and
marketed to assist in the process of diagnosis, yet little
attention has been paid to their content, claims, potential
risks, limitations or benefits of their use. This study
sought to describe and catalogue available diagnosis apps
and explore their impact on the diagnostic process. We
undertook a content analysis of the app descriptions and
developers ’ websites using the descriptions provided for
131 medical diagnosis smartphone apps that were available
in the Google Play and Apple App stores. Each app
was reviewed for its content and approach, and its claims
to medical authority. Four major categories of apps were
identified: 1. apps for diagnosing; 2. diagnosis coding
apps; 3. books, journals, or other publications in app format;
4. apps for medical education. Our analysis found that
while these apps provide access to medical information
previously widely not available to lay users and offered a
convenient diagnostic tool for practitioners, many failed
to describe the evidence base underpinning, or any other
credential supporting, their design and use. These apps
potentially shift how diagnosis operates, reconfiguring
disease concepts and lay-professional relations. However
they also raise the risk of conflict of interest and presenting
inaccurate information. Further research is required
into how these apps are used, the implications for medical
practice and the impact on doctor-patient relationship.
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The sociology of diagnosis offers a vantage point from which to study health and illness, linking... more The sociology of diagnosis offers a vantage point from which to study health and illness, linking a number of other threads of sociological thought. While there has been a growing interest in diagnosis since Mildred Blaxter's suggestion for a sociological exploration in 1978 – a call echoed by Brown in 1990 – it is timely to reflect upon the way in which sociologists engage with diagnosis. Within this review essay, I first consider what it is to “be a sociology” in general terms. I then explore the implications of this for an effective sociology of diagnosis, discussing the priorities it has recently developed as well as the directions its scholars might consider. Finally, I suggest ways in which sociologists of diagnosis could broaden their approach in order to advance their understanding of health, illness, and medicine.
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Sociology of health & illness, Jan 1, 2009
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Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 2013
Diagnosis plays an important role in how we understand disease, and how medicine confirms its sta... more Diagnosis plays an important role in how we understand disease, and how medicine confirms its status in contemporary society. However, diagnoses are far less concrete than their taxonomies suggest. This essay presents influenza as a case study in the elusive nature of the diagnosis, and in its complicated realities. Using the metaphor of boundary transgression, it reveals the fluidity of diagnosis and the paradoxes presented by the naturalization of diseases. In order to contain influenza, medicine commits other paradoxical transgressions of boundaries. Lay self-diagnosis, use of the lay expression “flu,” and wide reliance upon the belief in the influenza-like syndrome are used to attempt to cement a concrete notion of influenza.
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Social Science and Medicine, Nov 2013
Influenza is a common infectious disease, yet its diagnosis is rarely confirmed, rather is presum... more Influenza is a common infectious disease, yet its diagnosis is rarely confirmed, rather is presumed in the presence of non-specific clinical symptoms. Public health organisations enlist the lay person in the diagnostic process, as infection containment initiatives focus on encouraging individuals with influenzalike illness to stay at home, seeking medical attention only in the presence of complications. While lay self-diagnosis of influenza has been confirmed to be neither specific nor sensitive, little is known about how people with confirmed-influenza infection describe their illness. In this article we report the descriptions of influenza by 21 individuals with rapid antigen test-kit confirmation of influenza A or B and we discuss their recommendations for management of future influenza infection. Semi-structured interviews reveal that the variability in symptoms and severity of disease makes a standard description of
influenza elusive. Almost all participants had a cough, sweats, runny nose and muscle aches, but the prominence of these symptoms varied significantly between participants. Most participants were preoccupied with diagnostic certainty, and would seek medical attention in a future similar illness episode.
This study underlined a conditioned recourse to medical authority for confirmation of diagnosis which challenges current public health strategies and should be further explored in order to determine its wider impact.
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Papers by Annemarie Jutel
is replete with drama. The life-altering impact of putting a name to disease preoccupies clinicians and social scientists, but also infuses creative work. This paper describes the use of the diagnostic moment in fiction. Using Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Anna Funder’s All That I Am, Arthur Hailey’s The Final Diagnosis, Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife, and myriad others, I show how diagnosis is variably the subject, the trigger, and the frame for narratives. It is a characterization device as well as a tool for defining right and wrong, morality and truth. But it is also a means by which we can “imagine” diagnosis, ahead of any experience of illness, and give meaning to what a serious diagnosis may mean in the life of an individual.
Design: Thematic review.
Data sources: Articles from clinical journals in the PubMed database discussing self-diagnosis.
Results: Thirty-nine articles were included in this study. Of those, 31% (n=12) found self-diagnosis to be reliable and desirable; 23% (n=9) found it to be unreliable, yet to be sought after, and 28% (n=11) found it neither reliable, nor desirable. The remainder of the sample (n=6) had mixed views, including two articles which despite finding self-diagnosis to be reliable, refuted nonetheless its desirability.
Conclusions: The predictive value of self-diagnosis is not the only factor in that medical researchers consider when determining its desirability. Self-diagnosis presents complex challenges to both the doctor and the patient, as it simultaneously threatens medical authority, and strengthens the potential for self-care, compliance and convenience.
Keywords: Self-diagnosis; sociology of diagnosis; self-care.
Diagnosis is, however, a powerful social tool, with unique features and impacts which deserve their own specific analysis. The process of diagnosis provides the framework within which medicine operates, punctuates the values which medicine
espouses, and underlines the authoritative role of both medicine and the doctor. Diagnosis takes place at a salient juncture between illness and disease, patient and doctor, complaint and explanation. Despite calls for its establishment, almost two decades ago (Brown 1990), there is not yet a clear sociology of diagnosis. This paper argues that there should be, and, as a first step, draws together a number of threads of medical sociology that potentially contribute to this
proposed sociology of diagnosis, including the place of diagnosis in the institution of medicine, the social framing of disease definitions, the means by which diagnosis confers authority to medicine, and how that authority is challenged.
Through this preliminary review, I encourage sociology to consider the specific role of diagnosis in view of establishing a specific sub-disciplinary field.
applications ( “ apps ” ) have been developed and
marketed to assist in the process of diagnosis, yet little
attention has been paid to their content, claims, potential
risks, limitations or benefits of their use. This study
sought to describe and catalogue available diagnosis apps
and explore their impact on the diagnostic process. We
undertook a content analysis of the app descriptions and
developers ’ websites using the descriptions provided for
131 medical diagnosis smartphone apps that were available
in the Google Play and Apple App stores. Each app
was reviewed for its content and approach, and its claims
to medical authority. Four major categories of apps were
identified: 1. apps for diagnosing; 2. diagnosis coding
apps; 3. books, journals, or other publications in app format;
4. apps for medical education. Our analysis found that
while these apps provide access to medical information
previously widely not available to lay users and offered a
convenient diagnostic tool for practitioners, many failed
to describe the evidence base underpinning, or any other
credential supporting, their design and use. These apps
potentially shift how diagnosis operates, reconfiguring
disease concepts and lay-professional relations. However
they also raise the risk of conflict of interest and presenting
inaccurate information. Further research is required
into how these apps are used, the implications for medical
practice and the impact on doctor-patient relationship.
influenza elusive. Almost all participants had a cough, sweats, runny nose and muscle aches, but the prominence of these symptoms varied significantly between participants. Most participants were preoccupied with diagnostic certainty, and would seek medical attention in a future similar illness episode.
This study underlined a conditioned recourse to medical authority for confirmation of diagnosis which challenges current public health strategies and should be further explored in order to determine its wider impact.
is replete with drama. The life-altering impact of putting a name to disease preoccupies clinicians and social scientists, but also infuses creative work. This paper describes the use of the diagnostic moment in fiction. Using Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Anna Funder’s All That I Am, Arthur Hailey’s The Final Diagnosis, Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife, and myriad others, I show how diagnosis is variably the subject, the trigger, and the frame for narratives. It is a characterization device as well as a tool for defining right and wrong, morality and truth. But it is also a means by which we can “imagine” diagnosis, ahead of any experience of illness, and give meaning to what a serious diagnosis may mean in the life of an individual.
Design: Thematic review.
Data sources: Articles from clinical journals in the PubMed database discussing self-diagnosis.
Results: Thirty-nine articles were included in this study. Of those, 31% (n=12) found self-diagnosis to be reliable and desirable; 23% (n=9) found it to be unreliable, yet to be sought after, and 28% (n=11) found it neither reliable, nor desirable. The remainder of the sample (n=6) had mixed views, including two articles which despite finding self-diagnosis to be reliable, refuted nonetheless its desirability.
Conclusions: The predictive value of self-diagnosis is not the only factor in that medical researchers consider when determining its desirability. Self-diagnosis presents complex challenges to both the doctor and the patient, as it simultaneously threatens medical authority, and strengthens the potential for self-care, compliance and convenience.
Keywords: Self-diagnosis; sociology of diagnosis; self-care.
Diagnosis is, however, a powerful social tool, with unique features and impacts which deserve their own specific analysis. The process of diagnosis provides the framework within which medicine operates, punctuates the values which medicine
espouses, and underlines the authoritative role of both medicine and the doctor. Diagnosis takes place at a salient juncture between illness and disease, patient and doctor, complaint and explanation. Despite calls for its establishment, almost two decades ago (Brown 1990), there is not yet a clear sociology of diagnosis. This paper argues that there should be, and, as a first step, draws together a number of threads of medical sociology that potentially contribute to this
proposed sociology of diagnosis, including the place of diagnosis in the institution of medicine, the social framing of disease definitions, the means by which diagnosis confers authority to medicine, and how that authority is challenged.
Through this preliminary review, I encourage sociology to consider the specific role of diagnosis in view of establishing a specific sub-disciplinary field.
applications ( “ apps ” ) have been developed and
marketed to assist in the process of diagnosis, yet little
attention has been paid to their content, claims, potential
risks, limitations or benefits of their use. This study
sought to describe and catalogue available diagnosis apps
and explore their impact on the diagnostic process. We
undertook a content analysis of the app descriptions and
developers ’ websites using the descriptions provided for
131 medical diagnosis smartphone apps that were available
in the Google Play and Apple App stores. Each app
was reviewed for its content and approach, and its claims
to medical authority. Four major categories of apps were
identified: 1. apps for diagnosing; 2. diagnosis coding
apps; 3. books, journals, or other publications in app format;
4. apps for medical education. Our analysis found that
while these apps provide access to medical information
previously widely not available to lay users and offered a
convenient diagnostic tool for practitioners, many failed
to describe the evidence base underpinning, or any other
credential supporting, their design and use. These apps
potentially shift how diagnosis operates, reconfiguring
disease concepts and lay-professional relations. However
they also raise the risk of conflict of interest and presenting
inaccurate information. Further research is required
into how these apps are used, the implications for medical
practice and the impact on doctor-patient relationship.
influenza elusive. Almost all participants had a cough, sweats, runny nose and muscle aches, but the prominence of these symptoms varied significantly between participants. Most participants were preoccupied with diagnostic certainty, and would seek medical attention in a future similar illness episode.
This study underlined a conditioned recourse to medical authority for confirmation of diagnosis which challenges current public health strategies and should be further explored in order to determine its wider impact.
This special issue also features 55-word stories about diagnosis: concise and cogent distillations of the diagnosis experience from both lay and professional perspectives.