Hodges' Model: Welcome to the QUAD: Search results for sociology

Hodges' Model: Welcome to the QUAD

Hodges' model is a conceptual framework to support reflection and critical thinking. Situated, the model can help integrate all disciplines (academic and professional). Amid news items, are posts that illustrate the scope and application of the model. A bibliography and A4 template are provided in the sidebar. Welcome to the QUAD ...

Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sociology. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sociology. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, December 12, 2025

Sociology: Open access resources and course materials - BUP

As an introduction to our publishing in Sociology -

 https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/subject/SOC-Taster-Collection 
 
- we curated a collection of free and open access books and chapters that we think will contribute to your reading lists. Our growing list has a global outlook featuring high-quality research across emerging and established areas in the field, such as migration, gender, education, ageing, science and technology, death and culture, activism and organizing, race and ethnicity, decolonization, public sociology and children and families.

Highlights from the collection include:
Please feel free to share this collection with your network and your students. Chapters that are not perpetually open access will be free to download until end of March 2026

Our aim is to ensure that the vital work of our authors reaches the lecturers, researchers and policymakers who can use it to drive meaningful, real-world change.

You can request access to our full Sociology Collection
https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/subject/SOC-Collection?utm_source=listserv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sociology-2026 - via your institution’s library. 

We offer tiered pricing on our collections tailored to smaller organisations and their libraries. For more details, institutions can contact our team at bup-digital AT bristol.ac.uk.

Publish with us: If you are writing in this field, consider publishing your work with an ethical university press. To discuss your publishing projects, please contact our editor emily.ross AT bristol.ac.uk.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Kind regards,
Bahar Celik Muller - Senior Marketing Executive
Bahar Muller - Senior Marketing Executive

New books

Liberation and Corruption: Why Freedom Movements Fail

Reckoning: Creating Positive Change Through Radical Empathy

Mind the Inclusion Gap: How Allies Can Bridge the Divide Between Talking Diversity and Taking Action

White Privilege: The myth of a post-racial society

 
My source: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=EUROPEAN-SOCIOLOGIST

Posted by Peter Jones at 10:25 pm | PERMALINK

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Saturday, August 30, 2025

Revisiting "patient career"

Almost a decade ago I posted:

Medical Sociology: The Importance of 1894....2015 patient career - health career

- which was prompted by:

McKinlay, J.B. (1971) The concept “patient career” as a heuristic device for making medical sociology relevant to medical students. Social Science and Medicine, 5(5), 441-460.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5160599/

McKinlay's abstract reads:
Abstract

Increasingly it is being suggested that the behavioural sciences can contribute to medical education and should be incorporated into the medical curriculum. Evidence for the development of this view in Great Britain can be found in the recommendations of the recent Royal Commission on Medical Education and the submissions of various bodies to it. Given that the behavioural sciences in general and medical sociology in particular, can contribute in a positive way to the medical curriculum this paper attempts to: (a) draw together and crystallize some of the major problems inherent in past attempts to organize and include the behavioural sciences in the medical curriculum; (b) devise some criteria for determining the behavioural science content of the medical curriculum; (c) outline and discuss one possible course in medical sociology utilizing, as an organizing framework, the concept “patient career”.
Brian Hodges created his eponymous model with curriculum planning, design and development as a key purpose. In the early-mid 1980s nursing was looking forward to becoming a degree, undergraduate course of study.

McKinlay's use of 'patient career' (and others) can obviously be associated with the impact of life chances upon a person's health career. 

Individual
|
      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               
HUMANISTIC  --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      
 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 
|
Group






'While discussing the relationship between the medical and social sciences, and the role of the social scientist in teaching and research in medicine, Butler groups the range of medical topics which have been studied sociologically into four main categories [l4]. These are,

the sociology of illness,
the sociology of health,
the sociology of medical care
and the sociology of healing.' p.443.^



McKinlay sees these categories as too comprehensive. Although within the SOCIOLOGICAL domain of Hodges' model this is a 'start'? McKinlay proceeds to identify specific difficulties presented to educators, which include (in summary and with my emphasis):
'(a) The failure to identify needs, specify objectives and devise criteria
(b) The failure to distinguish between perspectives

'Very generally, the behavioural sciences can be said to be conccrned with the description and explanation of the health and illness behaviour of groups and social categories, whilst medicine (especially clinical medicine) aims at the understanding and successful treatment of individual patient cases. By working exclusively on the basis of (or failing to take account of) these separate perspectives, meaningful dialogue between behavioural scientists and medical students has been made extremely difficult.'

(c) The failure to distinguish the audience
(d) The failure to take account of temporal location
(e) The failure to provide a conceptual framework

Most courses in the behavioural sciences either offered or proposed, to a greater or lesser extent, tend to ressemble a sort of shopping list. For example, the courses offered by Badgley, Martin et al., and those proposed by the Society for Social Medicine and the Royal Commission all reflect this "'shopping list" charactcristic. After working down the list it is assumed that students will have the technical goods required. It is, of course, difficult for students undertaking these "shopping list" courses to reflect on where they have been, appraise their current position, or consider where they may be going.
Two further general problems seem to be inherent in many of the attempts to systematize the field of medical sociology, and to some extent are associated with some of the problems already outlined. 
(f) The problem of trying to cover too much [Which lists 18 topics for 2nd year students.]
 (g) The problem of omitting important areas' pp.443-445.
McKinlay then, is similarly preoccupied with the curriculum (for medical students):
'This section is concerned primarily with devising criteria which, given the finite amount of teaching time available, will offer some guidance in determining what aspects or areas of medical sociology should be given priority for teaching in the medical curriculum.' p.445.
This work from the 1970s surely invites reflection upon the meaning of 'progress'? 

^My formatting.

More to follow...?

Posted by Peter Jones at 8:46 pm | PERMALINK

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Friday, June 19, 2026

[Updated] AI Chat: Are the domains of Hodges' model comparable?

In drafting a future post: 'The Sciences: points, lines, angles and perspectives on domains', I thought I would ask Ecosia's AI Chat a related question, here is the (quick) prompt and reply:

PROMPT: 
In Hodges' model there are four care, or knowledge domains. The four domains are the sciences, sociology, political, and intrapersonal – interpersonal domain. In terms of potential content are these domains comparable, or is there an essential asymmetry? Please provide sources and references.

(I have saved the prompt for future reference and refinement.)

RESPONSE: [updated 21st June 2026]


Hodges’ model (also known as the Health Career Model or h2cm) is a conceptual framework that organizes knowledge and care into four quadrants, each representing a distinct domain of human experience and knowledge. These domains are:

  1. Sciences (empirical, biological, and physical sciences)
  2. Sociology (social structures, relationships, and community)
  3. Political (power, policy, governance, and resource allocation)
  4. Intrapersonal – Interpersonal (psychological, emotional, and relational aspects of the self and others)

Are the Four Domains Comparable or Asymmetrical?

The four domains in Hodges’ model are not strictly symmetrical in terms of their content, scope, or application. While they are presented as equal in structure (each occupying one quadrant of the model), their potential content, theoretical foundations, and practical implications can vary significantly. Here’s why:

1. Differences in Scope and Focus

  • Sciences (Quadrant 1):
    This quadrant focuses on empirical, measurable, and biological aspects of health and care, such as anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology. Its content is often highly specialized, technical, and evidence-based, rooted in natural sciences like biology and chemistry.

    • Example: The role of hormones in stress response or the pathophysiology of diabetes.

  • Sociology (Quadrant 2):
    This quadrant addresses social structures, culture, and community dynamics. Its content is broader and more interpretive, drawing from sociology, anthropology, and social psychology.

    • Example: The impact of socioeconomic status on health outcomes or the role of family support in recovery.

  • Political (Quadrant 3):
    This quadrant examines power, policy, governance, and resource distribution. Its content is highly contextual and often contested, influenced by political science, economics, and public policy.

    • Example: The effect of healthcare policies on access to services or the role of advocacy in shaping health priorities.

  • Intrapersonal – Interpersonal (Quadrant 4):
    This quadrant focuses on individual psychology, emotions, and relationships. Its content is highly subjective and variable, drawing from psychology, psychotherapy, and ethics.

    • Example: A patient’s personal beliefs about illness or the dynamics of a therapeutic relationship.

2. Differences in Methodology

  • Sciences and Political domains often rely on quantitative methods (e.g., experiments, statistical analysis, policy evaluations).
  • Sociology and Intrapersonal domains frequently use qualitative methods (e.g., interviews, case studies, ethnography).
  • This methodological diversity can create asymmetry in how knowledge is generated, validated, and applied.

3. Differences in Practical Application

  • Sciences and Political domains  are often system-level and influence macro-level decisions (e.g., clinical guidelines, healthcare policies).
  • Sociology and Intrapersonal domains are more individual- or community-level, focusing on personalized care, cultural competence, and therapeutic relationships.
  • This can lead to asymmetry in impact, where some domains (e.g., Political) shape broad systems, while others (e.g., Intrapersonal) focus on direct human experience.

4. Theoretical Foundations

  • The Sciences and Political domains are grounded in positivist and structuralist theories, emphasizing objectivity and external reality.
  • The Sociology and Intrapersonal domains are influenced by interpretivist and constructivist theories, emphasizing subjectivity and lived experience.
  • This theoretical diversity can create asymmetry in how knowledge is perceived and valued in different contexts.

Is There an Essential Asymmetry?

Yes, there is an essential asymmetry in the potential content of the four domains. While the model presents them as equal in structure, their content, methods, applications, and theoretical foundations are not interchangeable. The domains complement each other but serve different purposes in understanding and delivering care.

Sources and References

  1. Conceptual Overview of Hodges’ Model:

  2. Theoretical Foundations:

  3. Discussions on Asymmetry and Complementarity:

Summary Table: Asymmetry in Hodges’ Model Domains

DomainContent FocusMethodologyTheoretical FoundationLevel of Application
SciencesBiological, empirical dataQuantitativePositivistMacro (systems, clinical)
SociologySocial structures, communityQualitative/QuantitativeInterpretivist, StructuralistMeso (groups, communities)
PoliticalPower, policy, governanceQuantitative/QualitativeStructuralist, Critical TheoryMacro (systems, policy)
Intrapersonal-InterpersonalPsychology, emotions, relationshipsQualitativeConstructivist, HumanisticMicro (individual, relational)

PROMPT: 
In Hodges' model there are four care, or knowledge domains. The four domains are the sciences, sociology, political, and intrapersonal – interpersonal domain. In terms of potential content are these domains comparable, or is there an essential asymmetry?

 

In Hodges’ model, the four care (or knowledge) domains are:

  1. Sciences (biological, physiological)
  2. Sociology (social, cultural, environmental)
  3. Political (legal, policy, organizational)
  4. Intrapersonal – Interpersonal (psychological, emotional, relational)

These domains are not strictly comparable in terms of content, scope, or function. Instead, they represent complementary perspectives that together form a holistic framework for understanding human health, well-being, and care. Here’s why there is an essential asymmetry between them:

1. Scope and Focus

  • Sciences and Sociology are broad, well-established academic disciplines with extensive theoretical and empirical foundations. They provide generalizable knowledge about biological processes and social systems.
  • Political is more narrowly focused on power structures, governance, and resource allocation. While critical for systemic change, it is less about individual experience and more about collective frameworks.
  • Intrapersonal – Interpersonal is deeply personal and subjective, focusing on individual psychology, emotions, and relationships. It is less about universal laws and more about unique, context-dependent experiences.

This makes the intrapersonal-interpersonal domain inherently asymmetrical compared to the others, as it deals with subjectivity and variability rather than objective or structural phenomena.

2. Epistemological Differences

  • Sciences, Sociology, and Political domains rely on external observation, measurement, and analysis. They are rooted in positivist or structuralist traditions, where knowledge is often generalized.
  • Intrapersonal – Interpersonal is rooted in interpretivist and phenomenological traditions, where knowledge is co-created through subjective experience and dialogue. It resists universal generalization.

This creates a fundamental asymmetry in how knowledge is produced and validated across the domains.

3. Practical Application in Care

  • The Sciences, Sociology, and Political domains provide frameworks for action (e.g., medical treatments, social policies, legal rights). They are instrumental in shaping systems and interventions.
  • The Intrapersonal – Interpersonal domain is transformative—it shapes how individuals perceive, interpret, and respond to care. It is the domain where meaning is made and agency is exercised.

This means the intrapersonal-interpersonal domain is not just another “content area” but a lens through which all other domains are experienced and integrated.

4. Hierarchy of Integration

While the domains are conceptually equal in Hodges’ model, in practice, the intrapersonal-interpersonal domain often acts as the nexus where the other domains intersect. For example:

  • A scientific understanding of depression (e.g., serotonin levels) must be interpreted through the intrapersonal experience of the individual.
  • A sociological analysis of healthcare disparities must be understood through the political structures that enable or inhibit change.
  • A political decision about resource allocation must be filtered through intrapersonal values and priorities.

This integrative role makes the intrapersonal-interpersonal domain asymmetrical in function, even if not in formal status.

Conclusion: Essential Asymmetry

The four domains are not comparable in content or function. Instead:

  • The Sciences, Sociology, and Political domains provide structural and systemic knowledge.
  • The Intrapersonal – Interpersonal domain provides subjective and relational knowledge, which is essential for meaning-making and agency.

The asymmetry arises from the epistemological and practical differences between objective/systemic knowledge and subjective/experiential knowledge. Hodges’ model emphasizes that all domains are necessary, but they operate in fundamentally different ways.

Posted by Peter Jones at 8:35 pm | PERMALINK

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Saturday, November 01, 2025

On Sociology & Becoming a Patient

'The Subject matter of Sociology
& Becoming a Patient'

A primer for my picking up Hodges' model, or being pressed onboard, was early exposure to history and sociology. There was an understandable emphasis in the (then) school of nursing (registered mental nursing) on the role of society, social history, lunacy and the asylums, law, and attitude towards mental illnesses.

Continuing to sort books (inc. secondhand) and papers, there is:

Maclean, Una. (1974) Nursing in contemporary society. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/qhqc24fv

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group-population






'The sociological viewpoint can be taken on many different subjects. Thus, political sociology has to do with people's voting behaviour and their reactions to the processes of government, while the sociology of education takes into account the influence of various social factors upon educational opportunities and achievements. In addition, social psychology, social psychiatry and social medicine are all related to medical sociology. These terms all imply the use of sociological methods and insights in different areas of human behaviour, and the divisions between them are a convenient way of dealing with what is a very wide territory. Such divisions may suggest that events and things in the real world are already separated in themselves, whereas the divisions are actually in the minds of the people who make them.
It is easier to regard sociology generally as being the study of people's behaviour in groups, groups of all kinds, large and small, casual or permanent, groups of which people are very conscious as well as those of which they may scarcely be aware. Thus, much of sociology is concerned with the human family, a group whose form and composition varies from one part of the world to another and from one set of people to another but which does have common features and functions wherever it is studied. The family will be referred to repeatedly in this book, since not only does it affect all our lives but it profoundly influences the way in which people react in relation to illness.' pp.8-9.



Maclean pointed to the 'innumerable other human groupings' (p.9) and how these - family, schools, clubs, professional training, friendships, audiences, tourist crowds, customers, villager, hostel dweller; such groupings, some historic, temporary or transient - also differentiate into populations, that inform epidemiological and demographic studies. 

It is remarkable how societies have changed globally, since Maclean's 1974 text.

As if to presage the one-to-one encounters to follow, chapter 2 'Becoming a patient' after a brief history 'sickness' arrives at the work of the American sociologist Talcott Parsons.

I don't have the date but I remember making a note the four combined conditions at work for an individual to adopt the sick role. What stood out was how something we think is individually determined is social and so often a question of permission.

Maclean's text (with my emphasis) on these factors follows; and is then mapped to the domains of Hodges' model:
'In the first place, the illness must be outside the patient's control, in no sense his own fault. Second, the sick role will allow him exemption from his other roles. with their associated obligations and duties. For example, a man can legitimately give up work and leave his usual family 'responsibilities to his wife. But, third, the sick role requires that the patient should positively desire to get well, he should not relish the relinquishment of responsibility and, fourth, he has the obligation to seek competent medical help.' p.25.
individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic -------------------------------------------  mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group-population
the sick role requires that the patient should positively desire to get well

the illness must be outside the patient's control,
in no sense his own fault.

the sick role will allow him exemption from his other roles. with their associated obligations and duties
he has the obligation to seek
competent medical help

Again as an exercise you might care to reflect on this and our experiences since the millennium?

What is most remarkable is the need to view this as a 'future lesson' in terms of how societies must, will change to meet the challenges of tomorrow, and the day after that ...

Posted by Peter Jones at 6:43 pm | PERMALINK

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Monday, November 28, 2022

Medical sociology ... "food for thought" c/o POHG

I replied to the message copied below by Alex Scott-Samuel on the Politics of Health Group Mail List. Following up with respondents, I have copied Alex's reply and others:

----- Forwarded message -----
From: Alex Scott-Samuel <alexscottsamuel AT gmail.com>
To: "pohg AT jiscmail.ac.uk" <pohg AT jiscmail.ac.uk>
Sent: Saturday, 26 November 2022 at 13:05:25 GMT
Subject: [POHG] Illich

Just came across this from 19 years ago: still offers food for thought
 
[The graphic file downloaded should be legible. PJ]
 

*************************************
Politics of Health Group Mail List Messages
*************************************

Visit the PoHG website for lots of interesting links and publications: http://www.pohg.org.uk/
PoHG on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/282761111845400
Follow us on Twitter: @pohguk
You can subscribe to / unsubscribe from the PoHG mail list here: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/POHG

====================

On 26 Nov 2022, at 17:46, peter jones <h2cmng AT yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Thanks Alex,

This is very useful - short but very sweet and as you say food for thought - especially in our (ongoing) consumptogenic age.

You've prompted a draft blog-post I will add an acknowledgement and link to POHG.

I've no evidence, that is reading, so what follows are thoughts ... musings ... but I keep wondering: what has happened to 'medical sociology'?

Is medical (health) sociology - history as a discipline?
Is there ongoing development - has the discipline morphed into others?
Is there a case to stress not only public health, but public MENTAL health? As I often do. Am I over-reacting?
In information technology there is talk of functionality being placed in wrappers. Has sociology been subsumed - it's there - but underneath - policy rhetoric (integrated, person-centred, holistic care)?

Who are the leading current figures - and recent equivalents of -

"Aaron Antonovsky (19 December 1923 – 7 July 1994) was an Israeli American sociologist and academic whose work concerned the relationship between stress, health and well-being (salutogenesis)."

Canguilhem
Virchow ...?


Should I take heart by the arrival of the SDGs, and the recognition of not only the social determinants of health, but political and commercial too and others..?

I keep writing regarding the potential and utility of Hodges' model:


Thanks again,

Peter
====

----- Forwarded message -----
From: Alex Scott-Samuel <alexscottsamuel AT gmail.com>
Cc: "pohg AT jiscmail.ac.uk" <pohg AT jiscmail.ac.uk>
Sent: Saturday, 26 November 2022 at 18:41:10 GMT
Subject: Re: [POHG] Illich - wither et al. ?

Interesting questions Peter. I sense that the answers are out there but not necessarily concentrated in this list. Although I retired from academic public health almost 7 years ago, I have no reason to think that what is now called the sociology of health and illness is not as strong as ever. The kind of places I would look are on the one hand journals such as Sociology of Health and Illness, Social Science & Medicine and Critical Public Health and on the other, popular outlets such as Laurie Taylor's Radio 4 programme Thinking Allowed. 

As far as I know the Medical Sociology Group of the British Sociological Association still exists and holds regular conferences. There has for many years been a Journal of Public Mental Health though it's a while since I've looked at it

Antonovsky's ideas were popular in the health promotion field as well as in academic social science. I remember that a number of people in the WHO Healthy Cities movement were interested in salutogenesis. I've not thought about it for many years but I was on a research group with Antonovsky in the mid 80s when he was developing his Sense of Coherence construct. I  I have to say that despite the attractiveness of problematising health rather than sickness, I never thought the sense of coherence was adequately or well theorised. I do recall seeing quite a few papers from people who rushed out to measure the coherence of people in various situations using the tool which Antonovsky produced. I don't know whether this kind of work continues nor whether it developed

All the best, Alex
=============

----- Forwarded message -----
From: Alderson, Priscilla <p.alderson AT ucl.ac.uk>
Sent: Saturday, 26 November 2022 at 18:55:08 GMT
Subject: Re: [POHG] Illich - wither et al. ?

Dear Peter,

My book Critical Realism for Health and Illness Research: A Practical Introduction (Policy Press 2021) reviews the main traditions in medical sociology and critically updates sociology research that is relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The medical sociologists are the largest subgroup among all UK sociologists.

best wishes
Priscilla

Priscilla Alderson PhD,  Professor Emerita,  

Social Research Institute, University College London,
18 Woburn Square, London WC1H ONR p.alderson AT ucl.ac.uk     

http://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=DPALD60  

   

Alderson P. 2021 Critical Realism for Health and Illness Research. Policy Press. 

Winner of the IACR Cheryl Frank award 2022.

Children’s consent to heart surgery research website:  

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/social-science-research-unit/consent-and-shared-decision-making-healthcare/heart-surgery

Alderson, P. and Morgan, J. 2022 Realist by inclination, childhood studies, dialectic and bodily concerns: an interview. Journal of Critical Realism, 10.1080/14767430.2022.2068261
Alderson P, Morrow V. 2020 The Ethics of Research with Children and Young People: A Practical Handbook. SAGE.

=============
 
----- Forwarded message -----
From: Eileen O'Keefe <e.okeefe57 AT gmail.com>
To: Alex Scott-samuel <alexscottsamuel AT gmail.com>;
Cc: Professor Lesley Doyal <l.doyal AT bristol.ac.uk>
Sent: Sunday, 27 November 2022 at 19:52:16 GMT
Subject: Lesley Doyal

Dear Peter and Alex
 
Lesley Doyal set the agenda simultaneously with Illich with her Political Economy of Health. She continues to lead the pack re socially produced global inequities in health, eg her Living with HIV and Dying with AID: diversity, inequality and human rights in the global pandemic. Routledge Global Health Series. 2013.

Cheers
Eileen O’Keefe
===========

<->

By way of background:

I've always been impressed (in awe of) and reassured by 'medical sociology', the pioneers (as above), as a discipline, and in terms of sociology's explanatory potential.

Another - not so much an 'explanation' but an avenue to explore, has long been the continuum of care (yes, just one initially?). This spans the need for compassion, empathy, rapport, allied with the importance of hands - in nursing, medicine, surgery ... their being steady, vision true with rapid, safe, reliable, effective judgement and decision-making. In short, the need for humanistic and mechanistic synergy. Finding, and taking up Hodges' model perhaps this can account for the idea of holistic bandwidth(?).

It is an exaggeration surely, but it feels like I made two simultaneous connections in first reading psychology and philosophy. These are mind - body, and the way that many in society are 'remote' from science (knowledge), for a variety of reasons. Sociology can help account for those reasons.

Seeing (literally) the potential of visualization (as posted on W2tQ and in papers) in the 1970s, in 1990s research programs were dedicated to facilitate the development and application of visualization in the humanities. Visualization should not just be the preserve of high energy physics, bio-science and proteomics ... (although the attraction to what is 'quantifiable' is understandable). This is the question that drives this effort (I think!).

So the 'humanities' still have a requirement in information systems, informatics and literacy terms, and Hodges' model can, I believe, offer a way forward.

The replies above are much appreciated and I will follow them up.

Posted by Peter Jones at 6:55 pm | PERMALINK

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Thursday, September 06, 2007

SOCIOLOGY links: Holistic Bliss or Tristram Shandy ... IV

I've introduced the rationale behind the content of the INTERPERSONAL and POLITICAL links pages. Let's now look at SOCIOLOGY: Although the ticking of the clock has a mechano-quantum constancy, people are collectively nudged forward through the 7 AGES that characterise our personal and social lives. These two lives beg a question in terms of Hodges' model and its four care (knowledge) domains. From what I've already said chronological age is mechanistic; but if that is the case in which domain does pathological age reside? Perhaps it is not just one domain, but a matter of span ;-). If for you this means or includes traversing the SCIENCE and SOCIOLOGY domains; that is quite a journey, so better prepare...

Following this on the SOCIOLOGY links page - can that be HEALTH PROTECTION & PROMOTION? Again!

Well yes it is and this is not a mistake. Just an effort to emphasise the need to direct our attention and resources at health promotion and prevention at a community AND individual level. Visiting Assen in the Netherlands last month you hear of the Dutch love of bicycling. Seeing is believing though and all ages were out and about. Marvellous to behold.

If health and communities are about support then there are a multitude of groups and networks dedicated to the task for PATIENTS and CARERS. The emphasis now is also to engage the public in service and policy development. They also need to be involved in public health, health and social care research and not just as 'subjects'.

In terms of Hodges' model contrast this journey - SOCIO-POLITICAL with the SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC referred to above. Another post perhaps....?

Similarly, there are PROFESSIONAL and other associations across all disciplines. This includes the notion of integrated services, still a long way to go. These professional groups are 'political' in the [ORGANISATIONAL] sense, but I wanted to reflect the social - socialisation - aspect. (What! You've done one row! Come on Jones hurry up!)

The phrase COMPUTER SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE WORKING (CSCW) is not used as widely these days, but it captures a key purpose in HEALTH, SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INFORMATICS whether at an international, national or local level. Although I have placed it on the INTERPERSONAL page EDUCATION is all about 'socialisation' and an ongoing debate.

SOCIOLOGY I & II speak for themselves and in there you should find medical sociology and narrative medicine. Surely, the SOCIOLOGY listings should have pride of place here? The position of SOCIOLOGY on this links page is not intended to reflect examples of various socio-political concepts such as demotion, loss of status, alienation... It is true, these can reach over the INDIVIDUAL-GROUP axis and pummel the individual; but -

No. As with the other links pages SOCIOLOGY sits on the 2nd row due to the needs of health and social care learners (ALL staff!), patients and carers (the Public) to have speedy access to the relevant links.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH is next and the ongoing quest for more effective methods and tools to help unravel the phenomenological world. As with QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH in the SCIENCES listing, I've included some examples of software tools.

The final row presents ANTHROPOLOGY in which medicine and SCIENCE will find their earliest roots. Fittingly then HISTORY is right alongside. Two listings are devoted to ART, CULTURE, MEDIA and TECHNOLOGY; a realm I could really get lost in if I had the chance. I've tried to include some of the best examples of various genres, but they change so quickly. Please let me know (through the website) if you've a gem or two.... to share - or if you notice any broken / outdated links. I use tools to check, but they are digital and of course on this [HUMANISTIC] side of h2cm everything we touch is 'analogue'(?).

As you may have noticed this SOCIOLOGY domain is the smallest with just 12 listings. Perhaps here with the POLITICAL domain in the lower half-group hemisphere of Hodges model more (people) really does mean less? Yet, another post perhaps...?

Although ARCHITECTURE seems to epitomise -

  • the physical world with its presence (whether loved or abhorred);
  • the notion of artefact on a grand and detailed scale
  • the mix of mechanism and material
  • ....
Architecture is also associated with the human spirit, the ephemeral. I have wondered about including the subject here. It is a truly colossal micro-macro subject and also a profound factor in the health and well-being of all of us.

Like health it touches all the knowledge domains....

Next! Last but not least SCIENCES...

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Saturday, December 05, 2015

Medical Sociology: The Importance of 1894....2015 patient career - health career

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group





INTERESTINGLY, it was a physician, Dr Charles McIntire who, in 1894, in a paper entitled "The Importance of the Study of Medical Sociology", was one of the first to draw attention to the potentialities of medical sociology in the field of medicine.



Reference:
McKinlay, J.B. (1971) The concept “patient career” as a heuristic device for making medical sociology relevant to medical students. Social Science and Medicine, 5(5), 441-460.

McIntire, C. (1991) "The Importance of the Study of Medical Sociology," Sociological Practice: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/socprac/vol9/iss1/5

McIntire, C. (1894) "The Importance of the Study of Medical Sociology," Bulletin of American Academy of Medicine, 1, pp. 425-33

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Friday, October 30, 2020

'Proof' of the Four Quadrants

As I have read (and 'reviewed')  Lowy and Hood's (2004) The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix in applying a matrix, it first has to be created and the process includes identifying and naming the quadrants of concern. The final step is similar to what I see as a key function of Hodges' model: assurance. They refer to proof, being finalising the matrix asking the question are these quadrants real. Are they correct in this (business, industry and commercial) context?

For Hodges' model the quadrants are predetermined. They are 'fixed' but in a way to reassure both those on clinical ethics committees and involved in corporate governance. Although fixed -

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group - population
INTERPERSONAL
 SCIENCES
SOCIOLOGY
 POLITICAL

 - the terms used can vary as below:

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group - population
MENTAL HEALTH
 PHYSICAL HEALTH
CULTURE & SOCIETY
 POLITICAL

 

 'Culture and Society' was a suggestion and I've often wondered about the (meaning) scale and semantic synergy across the terms. Sociology is an academic discipline. As students 'produce' the model, I invariably have them wander about the library with Dewey. 'Politics' maybe a subject of study, but not 'Political'. The context for Hodges' model, however, is the situation in which the patient, nurse, carer, doctor, social worker, occupational therapist, physio ... find themselves. What is political about the situation. Even this is not the whole picture quadrant. What politics are evident? What political aspects should (must) be paid attention to? What is missing politically that is (further) injurious to this patient? (This patient (and carer) who is already helpless, hopeless and vulnerable?)

 In terms of proof, this is of course very important within healthcare. In mental health we often adopt a psycho-social approach and in psychological therapies from counselling to cognitive and gestalt forms in Hodges' model we can distinguish between one-to-one and individual psychology and group therapies and the psychology of a group. As soon as 'self' considers 'other' we also conjoin the model's vertical axis.

 

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group - population

individual
PSYCHOLOGY

 SCIENCES
group
PSYCHOLOGY

 POLITICAL

 

When I write 'sciences' I'm looking at my school time-table (yes - really!). The sciences for me back then were biology, chemistry and physics (which had to include astronomy). Today, we refer to STEM:


individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group - population
INTERPERSONAL
 Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
SOCIOLOGY
 POLITICAL
 
 
In the summer on twitter ComplexWales asked a question and made a suggestion (I must find and copy the tweet). This set me to task to write during lockdown: so I've a good outline of a short manual for Hodges' model.

In the last post, this is why I'm grateful to Lowy and Hood. I can now also factor this into the manual,  future presentations and workshops.
 
Real proof as an evidence-base goes far beyond this. I can see an exercise with the above components, the axes, the domains and the research subjects being invited to construct something. Amid the quest for data and theory there should be a space for pragmatics too.

Finally, I will leave it to you to reflect on -

Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education
 
- in relation to Hodges' model ...
 
More to follow ('care architecture' still) ...

Alex Lowy, Phil Hood (2004) The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix: Using 2 x 2 Thinking to Solve Business Problems and Make Better Decisions, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass ISBN: 978-1-118-00879-9

 

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