4th Global Conference
 |
 |
 |
Monday 4th July - Thursday 7th July 2005
Mansfield College, Oxford
Conference Programme, Abstracts & Papers
Session 9B: Communication in the Clinical Encounter
Chair: Laura Kerr
Botox Facial Treatment: Are There Specific Influences
on Women’s
Communication Process?
Christina Hahn and Daniel
Leising
Department of Communication,
University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen,
Germany and
Institute for Psychology,
University of Würzburg, Würzburg,
Germany
During the past decade, it has become popular to use
botulinum toxin (“Botox”) as a so called “anti-aging treatment”.
The toxin works in a
rather simple way: it weakens or paralyzes the muscles, thus diminishing
or
erasing wrinkles caused by activated muscles. The effect is smoother
looking
skin. At the same time, these muscles are the ones that enable facial
expressions. As facial expressions play an important role in our everday
social interactions, e.g. by revealing our feelings, displaying
friendliness, empathy and attention, the Botox treatment may result
not only
in aesthetic improvements, but also affect (and possibly impair)
communication.
On the one hand, the media portray the rejunivation treatment
as an
effective anti-aging procedure with side effects: “Botox has worked
its
numbing magic on the face of America. [...] In certain social enclaves
it is
rare to see a woman over the age of 35 with the ability to look angry.”
(Kuczynski 2002). Plastic surgeons observe their patients losing
expressivity, e.g. sceptisim or astonishment. On the other hand, patients
hear their facial regions being labelled as “crow’s feet”, “frown
lines”,
“turkey-neck” or “plaster chin” (cp. Sommer, Sattler
2001). The US FDA
appears to pathologize frown lines by its approval of botulinum toxin
use on
the glabella. The leading manufacturer of botulinum toxin uses the slogan“It’s not magic, it’s Botox cosmetics.” to
promote the use of the drug.
This paper presents work in progress of an
interdisciplinary project joining
communication studies and psychology, as well as cosmetic dermatology.
Recognizing the public discourse on expressivity, aging, attractiveness,
and
aesthetic medicine, the project aims to investigate the effects of Botox
treatment on dyadic communicative processes. To this aim, the facial
expressivity of women treated with botulinum toxin will be assessed within
a
standardized interaction task, and compared with the expressivity of
untreated women.
Evaluating Risk and Pain in Elective Cosmetic Surgery
Ashley Morgan
Health and Sociology,
Swansea Institute of Higher Education,
Swansea, United Kingdom
This paper will address a number of issues faced by individuals when undergoing elective cosmetic surgery. Drawing on wider research which examines the relationship between consumerism and cosmetic surgery, I will convey the way in which individuals perceive and evaluate risks associated with cosmetic surgery, as consumers of a service. Findings suggest that individuals tend to concentrate on the positive outcome of their surgery rather than the process of the procedure. Currently, cosmetic surgery may be considered as a form of cosmetic enhancement for which there may be a number of motivations, such as the desire to improve appearance. Cosmetic surgery is medical in nature, and is concerned with the usual elements of surgery such as cutting into tissue and muscle, removing skin, or implanting prosthetics. Yet this type of surgery is estranged from the rest of the medical profession as the ability to bestow health through surgery is limited. Cosmetic surgery is widely advertised, many cosmetic surgeons practice independently, get paid directly, and are unregulated; any medical doctor can practise as a cosmetic surgeon, and the incompetence of many surgeons is notorious. Unlike the traditional doctor/patient relationship, where boundaries and expectations of both parties are well recognised, as people may perceive cosmetic surgery as a consumer service, their expectations of surgeons may differ. Information regarding cosmetic surgery is available in a number of locations, including the popular press, and individuals have to make important decisions based on an evaluation of such information. Findings suggest that people who undergo cosmetic surgery tend to perceive the risks involved as being part of the process and that choosing a surgeon who can guarantee a positive outcome is often subject to luck rather than judgement.
Understanding the Phenomenon of Doctor
Shopping
Paul James
Canberra Australia
In Australia access to specialists is regulated by
a referral system but access to primary care is not restricted and patients
are able to see multiple general practitioners (GP) concurrently.
Analysis
of Medicare claims data by the HIC showed
that many thousands of people were seeing numerous doctors over a year,
many concurrently. One Shopper even saw 600 different doctors in a year.
The HIC defines a doctor shopper as someone that sees 15 or
more different GPs over 12 months and obtains 50 or more prescriptions.
Information gathered during a four-year project to gain greater understanding
of doctor shopping and improve doctor shoppers health outcomes
is used to explore:
- the doctor shoppers' illness behaviour
- the doctor shoppers' sense of self perception and self understanding;
- the notion of worldly self who suffers through the ongoing direction of their illness and disease;
- the provision of health care, and
- the promotion of civil society.
This approach takes us beyond the traditional stereotypes
of doctor
shoppers as drug abusers, hypochondriacs, and weak willed people.
What is revealed is the more complex story of persons trying to coping
and survive in circumstances that they are only partially responsible
for.
Achieving greater understanding doctor shoppers will highlight some
of the requirements for achieving patient centred care. It will
also raise egalitarian concerns about the inequality of health outcomes
of these people. In addition understanding doctor shopping highlights
factors that influence quality of life.