Papers by Catherine Coveney
From scarcity to sisterhood: The framing of egg donation on fertility clinic websites in the UK, Belgium and Spain
Social Science & Medicine
From Acupuncture to Ozone Therapy: Exploring Uses of Complementary and Alternative Medicines in Elite Sport
An evaluation of Samaritans telephone and email emotional support service
First of all, we would like to acknowledge the contribution of Martin Anderson (MA) who instigate... more First of all, we would like to acknowledge the contribution of Martin Anderson (MA) who instigated and led this project as Principal Investigator until serious illness forced him to withdraw in January 2009. Michelle Stubley (MLS) worked on the study as full time Research Associate ...
Sleep, until recently, has been a neglected topic or issue within sociology and the social scienc... more Sleep, until recently, has been a neglected topic or issue within sociology and the social sciences and humanities in general. At first glance this may seem unsurprising given the predominant waking assumptions, concerns or preoccupations of these disciplines. Further reflection, however, reveals the shortcomings of any such neglect or dismissal of sleep as a topic worthy of sociological attention. Sleep is a socially, culturally and historically variable phenomenon. How we sleep, when we sleep, where we sleep, what meaning and value we accord sleep, let alone with whom we sleep, are all important topics of sociological investigation which do not simply vary around the world, both past and present, but within different segments of society and within and between cultures. The nature, quantity and quality of sleep, moreover, is clearly important both for the individual and society in terms of health and safety, productivity and performance, quality of life and well-being. In part a re...
Egg providers' views on the use of surplus eggs in the UK, Spain and Belgium: implications for information giving and informed consent (POSTER)
Travelling with Sugar: Chronicles of a global epidemic
Sociology of Health & Illness
Reframing egg donation in Europe: new regulatory challenges for a shifting landscape
Health Policy and Technology
Social Science & Medicine
Elite athletes face extreme challenges to perform at peak levels. Acute and chronic musculoskelet... more Elite athletes face extreme challenges to perform at peak levels. Acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries are an occupational hazard while pressures to return to play post-injury are commonplace. Therapeutic options available to elite athletes range from novel 'cutting edge' biomedical therapies, established biomedical and surgical techniques, and physiotherapy, to a variety of non-orthodox therapies. Little is known about how different treatment options are selected, evaluated, nor how their uses are negotiated in practice. We draw on data from interviews with 27 leading sports medicine physicians working in professional football and cycling in the UK, collected 2014-16. Using idea of the 'therapeutic landscape' as a conceptual frame, we discuss how non-orthodox tools, technologies and/or techniques enter the therapeutic landscape of elite sports medicine, and how the boundaries between orthodox and non-orthodox therapy are conceptualised and navigated by sports medicine practitioners. The data provide a detailed and nuanced examination of heterogenous therapeutic decision-making, reasoning and practice. Our data show that although the biomedical paradigm remains dominant, a wide range of non-orthodox therapies are frequently used, or authorised for use, by sports medicine practitioners, and this is achieved in complex and contested ways. Moreover, we situate debates around nonorthodox medicine practices in elite sports in ways that critically inform current theories on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)/biomedicine. We argue that existing theoretical concepts of medical pluralism, integration, diversity and hybridisation, which are used to explain CAMs through their relationships with biomedicine, do not adequately account for the multiplicity, complexity and contestation that characterise contemporary forms of CAM use in elite sport.
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
Sociology of health & illness, Jan 21, 2018
In this paper we examine the medical management of sleeplessness as 'insomnia', through t... more In this paper we examine the medical management of sleeplessness as 'insomnia', through the eyes of general practitioners (GPs) and sleep experts in Britain. Three key themes were evident in the data. These related to (i) institutional issues around advocacy and training in sleep medicine (ii) conceptual issues in the diagnosis of insomnia (iii) and how these played out in terms of treatment issues. As a result, the bulk of medical management occurred at the primary rather than secondary care level. These issues are then reflected on in terms of the light they shed on relations between the medicalisation and the pharmaceuticalisation of sleeplessness as insomnia. Sleeplessness, we suggest, is only partially and problematically medicalised as insomnia to date at the conceptual, institutional and interactional levels owing to the foregoing factors. Much of this moreover, on closer inspection, is arguably better captured through recourse to pharmaceuticalisation, including coun...
Social science & medicine (1982), Apr 1, 2017
Injury is a conspicuous feature of the practice and public spectacle of contemporary elite sports... more Injury is a conspicuous feature of the practice and public spectacle of contemporary elite sports. The paper argues that the 'biomedicalisation' thesis (medico-industrial nexus, techno-scientific drivers, medical optimisation, biologisation, the rise of evidence and health surveillance) goes some way to capturing the use in elite sports injury of some highly specialised mainstream therapies and some highly maverick biological therapies, which are described. Nevertheless, these main strands of biomedicalisation do not capture the full range of these phenomena in the contexts of sports medicine and athletes' practices in accessing innovative, controversial therapies. Drawing on multi-method qualitative research on top-level professional football and cycling in the UK, 2014-2016, we argue that concepts of 'magic' and faith-based healing, mediated by notions of networking behaviour and referral systems, furnish a fuller explanation. We touch on the concept of 'me...
Sociology of health & illness, Jun 20, 2017
This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions... more This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving." A note on versions: The version presented here may differ from the published version or, version of record, if you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the 'permanent WRAP URL' above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
The growing use of psychoactive substances in everyday life, the increasing experimentation among... more The growing use of psychoactive substances in everyday life, the increasing experimentation among users and the potential of poly drug use for non-medical, lifestyle or enhancement purposes presents an evolving policy challenge. The paper aims to build on previous research to gain a more in-depth qualitative understanding of the imaginaries around pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement (PCE). It focuses in particular on how the so-called pharmaceutical cognitive enhancing drugs (PCEDs) might be used and the social acceptability of these uses across multiple social contexts and groups. Data come from 23 focus groups (99 participants), representing a wide range of social groups, recruited in the UK. We discuss four distinct 'enhancement practices' where PCE use was conceptualised as a way to (1) become the best version of oneself; (2) gain a competitive edge over others; (3) for personal achievement or well-being; and (4) promote personal/public safety. The findings problematise the term 'enhancement' by showing the different ways in which the use of pharmaceutical 'enhancement' drugs can be imagined and understood. We argue for the value of policy responses that acknowledge and respond to a wider range of enhancement practices including those of prospective user groups.
Awakening expectations: exploring social and ethical issues surrounding the medical and non-medical uses of cognition enhancing drugs in the UK
... Medicalisation From patients to consumers of healthcare The biomedical era ... Over the past ... more ... Medicalisation From patients to consumers of healthcare The biomedical era ... Over the past decade, neurotechnologies technologies which can be used to augment brain function in ... orientated around the prospect of improving cognition or, put simply, achieving better ...
Awakening expectations: exploring social and ethical issues surrounding the medical and non-medical uses of cognition enhancing drugs in the UK
... Medicalisation From patients to consumers of healthcare The biomedical era ... Over the past ... more ... Medicalisation From patients to consumers of healthcare The biomedical era ... Over the past decade, neurotechnologies technologies which can be used to augment brain function in ... orientated around the prospect of improving cognition or, put simply, achieving better ...
Boosting Brainpower? From the Medicalisation of Cognition to the Pharmaceuticalisation of Routine Mental Health
Boosting brainpower? From the medicalisation of cognition to the pharmaceuticalisation of routine mental life
Salute E Societa, 2012
Prescriptions and proscriptions: moralising sleep medicines
Sociology of health & illness, Jan 20, 2015
The pharmaceuticalisation of sleep is a contentious issue. Sleep medicines get a 'bad press&#... more The pharmaceuticalisation of sleep is a contentious issue. Sleep medicines get a 'bad press' due to their potential for dependence and other side effects, including studies reporting increased mortality risks for long-term users. Yet relatively little qualitative social science research has been conducted into how people understand and negotiate their use/non-use of sleep medicines in the context of their everyday lives. This paper draws on focus group data collected in the UK to elicit collective views on and experiences of prescription hypnotics across different social contexts. Respondents, we show, drew on a range of moral repertoires which allowed them to present themselves and their relationships with hypnotics in different ways. Six distinct repertoires about hypnotic use are identified in this regard: the 'deserving' patient, the 'responsible' user, the 'compliant' patient, the 'addict', the 'sinful' user and the 'noble'...
Pharmaceutical Cognitive Enhancement
Augmenting Cognition, 2011
De-Pharmaceuticalizing' Sleep? Patient and Professional Perspective on Presciption Hypnotics in UK Primary Care
In this paper we look at UK General Practitioners’ (GPs’) views of prescribing hypnotics in prima... more In this paper we look at UK General Practitioners’ (GPs’) views of prescribing hypnotics in primary care and compare and contrast these with patient perspectives and experiences, in the context of debates about the (de)pharmaceuticalisation of sleep. Data are qualitative in nature, drawn from focus groups with chronic users of sleeping pills and semi-structured interviews with GPs. We examine the degree to which the views of patients with respect to both aetiology of their sleep problem and prescription of pharmaceuticals converge or diverge with medical discourses on these matters. We discuss the role of so-called lay ‘expertise’ in the therapeutic management of sleep problems, the perceived value of pharmaceuticals, and the importance of building mutual trust between GPs and patients in the medical encounter. We argue that in practice, medical views on the value of hypnotics, beliefs about ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ patients and corresponding prescribing practices have permeabl...
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Papers by Catherine Coveney