'Medicalisation' of same sex relations is a phenomenon that reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. The rise of gay liberation produced a divisive political contest with the psychiatric profession and adherents of the orthodox 'medical model' in the United States and - to a lesser extent - in the United Kingdom. This socio-historical process occurred throughout the English-speaking world, but ...

BACKGROUND the oldest old (85+) pose complex medical challenges. Both underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis are claimed in this group. OBJECTIVE to estimate diagnosis, prescribing and hospital admission prevalence from 2003/4 to 2011/12, to monitor trends in medicalisation. DESIGN AND SETTING observational study of Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) electronic medical records from genera...

This article explores the relationship between EU Law and the allocation of scarce NHS resources in the context of the EU's objective of facilitating access to health care for patients within the EU. Focusing on the Watts case and the recently adopted EU Patients' Rights Directive, the article addresses the political and economic aspects of the implications of EU Law for, inter alia, domestic l...

issue in an informed way, there should be greater research into whether affected women view themselves as victims of assault or as active and willing participants in a necessary social act. As J Tim Scott reasoned in a letter to the British Medical Journal (www.bmj.com/cgi/eleters/321/7256/ 262#EL3 [accessed Sept 25, 2001]), some supporters of the educative approach rather than a total ban may ...

References 1 Auton F. The advertising of pharmaceuticals direct to consumers: a critical review of the literature and debate. Int J Adver 2004; 23: 1–5. 2 Hone F, Benson R. DTC: European style. Pharm Exec 2004; 24: 96–102. 3 Kravitz RL, Epstein RM, Feldman MD, et al. Infl uence of patients’ requests for direct-to-consumer advertised antidepressants: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2005; 293...

There is a significant class disparity within the provision of medical treatments for infertility in the United States. Common explanations attribute this inequality to financial inaccessibility due to sparse insurance coverage and exorbitant costs. However, little is known as to why disparities still exist without the presence of such constraints, such as in states with comprehensive insurance...

BACKGROUND Considerable debate surrounds the influence media have on first-time pregnant women. Much of the academic literature discusses the influence of (reality) television, which often portrays birth as risky, dramatic and painful and there is evidence that this has a negative effect on childbirth in society, through the increasing anticipation of negative outcomes. It is suggested that wom...

This article proposes a theoretical framework on the role of pharmaceuticals in transforming perspectives and shaping contemporary subjectivities. It outlines the significant role drugs play in three fundamental processes of social transformation in Western societies: medicalisation, molecularisation and biosocialisation. Indeed, drugs can be envisaged as major devices of a pharmaceutical regim...