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Full-Text Articles in Palliative Care
Changing Physician Ideologies On The Care Of The Dying: Themes And Possible Explanations, John Macdougall
Changing Physician Ideologies On The Care Of The Dying: Themes And Possible Explanations, John Macdougall
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
An analysis of changing physician ideologies regarding the care of elderly dying patients, as expressed in technical journals read by American physicians. Markedly more titles concerning terminal care are found in Index Medicus in 1968- 78 than in 1960-67. In one journal, physicians are only after 1964 urged to tell patients openly about their condition and after 1969, to improve cooperation within professional teams. Two explanations of these data are tentatively explored: 1) a Parsonian explanation, whereby medical ideologies reflect professional autonomy and the influence of internalized moral norms; 2) a Marxist explanation, whereby medical ideologies reflect physicians' transformation from …