Dilemmas in general practice: The care of the cancer patient

doi:10.1016/0277-9536(82)90341-0

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 16, Issue 3, 1982, Pages 315-322

https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(82)90341-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

Recent investigations of the care provided for cancer patients in the community have revealed substantial shortcomings, both in the identification of problems and in the help offered to patients and their families. While some explanations have been sought for these omissions, it has generally been assumed that they are due to practitioners' ignorance of problems encountered by families. Focusing on general practitioners, this paper argues that these deficiencies in care arise not only from ignorance, but also from the conceptual and structural framework within which practitioners operate. Working within such a framework, general practitioners experience considerable dilemmas in decisions about the management and care of cancer patients. This paper argues that explicit acknowledgement of these dilemmas is a necessary prerequisite to any recommendations for improvements in care.

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Citation Excerpt :
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If doctors and nurses involved in cancer care are to help patients and their families achieve an optimal level of quality of life and psychological adjustment they must be able to carry out key communication tasks successfully. Yet, objective scrutiny of their consultations confirms that deficiencies in their ability to conduct these tasks remain. The reasons for this are dicussed before important innovations in training and their impact are described.
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Dilemmas in general practice: The care of the cancer patient

Abstract

The psychological and social sequelae of mastectomy

Ambiguity and the search for meaning: childhood leukemia in the modern clinical context

Soc. Sci. Med.

Treating the pediatric cancer-patient: a review

J. Ped. Psychol.

Psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer: a review of selected literature

Int. J. Psychiat.

Assisting the psychosocial problems of cancer patients: a review of current research

Int. J. Nurs. Stud.

The historiography of scientific medicine: an invitation to the human sciences

Comp. Stud. Soc. Hist.

The disappearance of the sick man from medical cosmology

Sociology

The role of the hospital in the development of modern medicine: a sociological analysis

Sociology

Disease and illness: distinctions between professional and popular ideas of sickness

Cult. Med. Psychiat.

Concepts of health and illness: a working paper on the concepts and their relevance for research

Cancer of the breast; the past decade

New Engl. J. Med.

The epidemiology of cancer

Cancer