TY - JOUR
T1 - Contextualizing geneticization and medical pluralism
T2 - How variable institutionalization of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) conditions effects of genetic beliefs on utilization
AU - Shim, Jae Mahn
AU - Kim, Jibum
N1 - Funding Information:
Jae-Mahn Shim was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF- 2018S1A5B6075594 ). Jibum Kim was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government ( NRF-2020S1A3A2A03096777 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - As genetic models are increasingly incorporated in medicine, health service users seem to accept these models to varying degrees. To appreciate these differences, this paper examines how health service users' genetic beliefs of health are associated with their use of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) via responses from 31 countries in the 2011 ISSP survey. It finds an interesting contrast between East Asian countries and other countries in the world. The negative association between genetic beliefs and TCAM use is strong in the latter, whereas it is weak in the former. More intriguingly, the analysis demonstrates significant cross-national differences within East Asian countries. Chinese and Koreans reveal a negative relationship between genetic beliefs and TCAM use, while Japanese show a positive relationship. The paper provides an explanation to these cross-national differences by drawing on comparative studies of medical systems. When TCAM is institutionalized as valid and distinct medical resources, and when TCAM is practically available to everyday use, health service users who subscribe to genetic beliefs are likely to use TCAM as well. These findings contribute to revealing the pragmatic nature of health-seeking action and the institutional context in which geneticization and medical pluralism are conditioned to form.
AB - As genetic models are increasingly incorporated in medicine, health service users seem to accept these models to varying degrees. To appreciate these differences, this paper examines how health service users' genetic beliefs of health are associated with their use of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) via responses from 31 countries in the 2011 ISSP survey. It finds an interesting contrast between East Asian countries and other countries in the world. The negative association between genetic beliefs and TCAM use is strong in the latter, whereas it is weak in the former. More intriguingly, the analysis demonstrates significant cross-national differences within East Asian countries. Chinese and Koreans reveal a negative relationship between genetic beliefs and TCAM use, while Japanese show a positive relationship. The paper provides an explanation to these cross-national differences by drawing on comparative studies of medical systems. When TCAM is institutionalized as valid and distinct medical resources, and when TCAM is practically available to everyday use, health service users who subscribe to genetic beliefs are likely to use TCAM as well. These findings contribute to revealing the pragmatic nature of health-seeking action and the institutional context in which geneticization and medical pluralism are conditioned to form.
KW - Comparative medical systems
KW - Complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM)
KW - East Asia
KW - Geneticization
KW - Health-seeking action
KW - ISSP
KW - Medical pluralism
KW - Traditional
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091684710&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113349
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113349
M3 - Article
C2 - 33008647
AN - SCOPUS:85091684710
VL - 267
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
SN - 0277-9536
M1 - 113349
ER -