| Title |
The new holism: P4 systems medicine and the medicalization of health and life itself
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, January 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11019-016-9683-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Henrik Vogt, Bjørn Hofmann, Linn Getz |
| Abstract |
The emerging concept of systems medicine (or 'P4 medicine'-predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) is at the vanguard of the post-genomic movement towards 'precision medicine'. It is the medical application of systems biology, the biological study of wholes. Of particular interest, P4 systems medicine is currently promised as a revolutionary new biomedical approach that is holistic rather than reductionist. This article analyzes its concept of holism, both with regard to methods and conceptualization of health and disease. Rather than representing a medical holism associated with basic humanistic ideas, we find a technoscientific holism resulting from altered technological and theoretical circumstances in biology. We argue that this holism, which is aimed at disease prevention and health optimization, points towards an expanded form of medicalization, which we call 'holistic medicalization': Each person's whole life process is defined in biomedical, technoscientific terms as quantifiable and controllable and underlain a regime of medical control that is holistic in that it is all-encompassing. It is directed at all levels of functioning, from the molecular to the social, continual throughout life and aimed at managing the whole continuum from cure of disease to optimization of health. We argue that this medicalization is a very concrete materialization of a broader trend in medicine and society, which we call 'the medicalization of health and life itself'. We explicate this holistic medicalization, discuss potential harms and conclude by calling for preventive measures aimed at avoiding eventual harmful effects of overmedicalization in systems medicine (quaternary prevention). |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 128 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 15 | 12% |
| United Kingdom | 14 | 11% |
| United States | 7 | 5% |
| Norway | 4 | 3% |
| Australia | 3 | 2% |
| Ireland | 2 | 2% |
| Peru | 2 | 2% |
| Italy | 2 | 2% |
| Canada | 2 | 2% |
| Other | 16 | 13% |
| Unknown | 61 | 48% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 90 | 70% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 18 | 14% |
| Scientists | 17 | 13% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 173 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 1 | <1% |
| South Africa | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 171 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 27 | 16% |
| Researcher | 26 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 25 | 14% |
| Student > Bachelor | 19 | 11% |
| Other | 9 | 5% |
| Other | 37 | 21% |
| Unknown | 30 | 17% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 45 | 26% |
| Social Sciences | 14 | 8% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 11 | 6% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 10 | 6% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 10 | 6% |
| Other | 38 | 22% |
| Unknown | 45 | 26% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 86. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 24 January 2021.
All research outputs
#501,030
of 25,632,496 outputs
Outputs from Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy
#10
of 623 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#9,029
of 406,976 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy
#1
of 11 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 623 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its contemporaries.