Citation

Jenner A, Scott A. Sociol. Health Illn. 2008; 30(2): 197-216.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9566.2007.01061.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that circulating metaphors and beliefs can create an environment in which particular biomedical treatments make cultural sense, even if they seem to be ineffective or are associated with unpleasant side effects. We develop this argument in relation to interferon combined therapy. An innovative methodology combining the collection and deconstructive analysis of visual and narrative texts produced by people with hepatitis C is used to demonstrate links between a predisposition towards Western biomedical practice, discomfort with uncertainty, a desire to reassert control, and adoption of conflict metaphors associated with the tropes of invasion and eradication.