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Hobson-West P. Vets and Vaccines: A Discursive Analysis of Pet Vaccine Critique. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:868933. [PMID: 35754533 PMCID: PMC9218416 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.868933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Critique of vaccination policy and practice has a long history, and social scientists and others have devoted significant efforts to understanding this phenomenon. This attention has only increased in light of the coronavirus pandemic, with public health concerns expressed about opposition to vaccination strategies. However, much less attention has thus far been devoted to understanding veterinary vaccine critique. This is problematic, given the central role of animals in the production and consumption of vaccines, and the existence of veterinary professional anxiety and international media coverage. The lack of existing literature may reflect a wider paucity of research on the veterinary profession; a paucity actively being challenged by new fields of veterinary anthropology and sociology. This short report is based on a discourse analysis of a UK campaign group, which questions aspects of companion animal vaccine policy. Findings suggest that the kinds of discourses used are similar to those made in the human vaccine domain: questions of risk, trust in expertise and imaginaries of science are thus not unique to human medicine. However, the article argues that some of the discourses identified are actually in line with wider social and cultural developments in healthcare. This argument has potential implications for veterinary professionals, as well as scholars interested in animal or human medicine. The article concludes by identifying future research trajectories, focused on further analysis of discursive practice, or the use of ethnographic observation to more fully understand the relationship between humans and non-humans, including animals and vaccine technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pru Hobson-West
- School of Sociology and Social Policy, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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Multi-species dementia studies: Contours, contributions and controversies. J Aging Stud 2021; 59:100975. [PMID: 34794720 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2021.100975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Developed via an online collaborative writing project involving members of the Multi-species Dementia International Research Network, this article seeks to refocus "the lens of the dementia debate" (Bartlett & O'Connor, 2007) by bringing dementia's complicated relations with the more-than-human world into sharper relief. Specifically, the article explores four thematic areas (contours) within contemporary dementia studies (Care & Caring; Illness Experience & Disease Pathology; Environment, Self & Sustainability; Power, Rights & Social Justice) where the application of multi-species theories and concepts has potential to foster innovation and lead to new ways of thinking and working. Whilst incorporating multi-species perspectives within dementia studies can create new ways of responding and new spaces of response-ability, the potential for conflict and controversy remains high. It is imperative, therefore, that the field of dementia studies not only becomes a site within which multi-species perspectives can flourish, but that dementia studies also becomes a vehicle through which multi-species concepts may be refined.
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Rock MJ, Degeling C, Adams CL. From more-than-human solidarity to multi-species biographical value: insights from a veterinary school about ethical dilemmas in One Health promotion. SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH & ILLNESS 2020; 42:789-808. [PMID: 32291790 DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This article features a partnership between a veterinary school and a charity that aims to enhance the wellbeing of low-income people. Through this partnership, the charity periodically hosts veterinary clinics for clients and their pets. Even as the veterinarians and veterinary students duly examine people's pets, these pop-up clinics aim to help people and their pets. Hence our analysis revolves around the ethics of 'more-than-human solidarity'. By 'more-than-human solidarity', we mean efforts to help others that either center on or that implicate non-human beings. To delve into the ethical and sociological implications of subsidised veterinary services, and to assist with program planning, we conducted several in-depth interviews with veterinarians. Most substantively, we found that the veterinary school's outreach clinics give rise to multi-species biographical value, which is prized as a pedagogical resource for veterinary students. The veterinarians whom we interviewed felt troubled by the extent to which the pop-up clinics ultimately benefited the veterinary school, but also by the shortage of subsidised veterinary services in the vicinity. Based on these interviews and our own reflections, we invite more scholarship on cultural, economic and political influences that shape the lives of human beings and non-human animals alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie J Rock
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Chris Degeling
- Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence, and Values, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Cindy L Adams
- Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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Degeling C, Rock M. Qualitative Research for One Health: From Methodological Principles to Impactful Applications. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:70. [PMID: 32133378 PMCID: PMC7039926 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The One Health concept has inspired a rich vein of applied research and scholarly reflection over the past decade, yet with little influence from qualitative methodologists. With this overview, we describe the underpinning assumptions, purposes, and potential pitfalls of data collection techniques and methods of data analysis in key qualitative research methodologies. Our aim is to enhance One Health collaborations involving qualitative researchers, veterinary epidemiologists, and veterinary economists. There exist several distinct traditions of qualitative research, from which we draw selectively for illustrative purposes. Notwithstanding important distinctions, we emphasize commonalities and the potential for collaborative impact. The most important commonality is a shared focus on contextualizing human behavior and experience–culturally, economically, historically, and socially. We demonstrate that in-depth attention to context can assist veterinary economists and epidemiologists in drawing lessons from the implementation of policies and programs. In other words, qualitative researchers can assist One Health teams in distilling insights from “success stories,” but also from adverse events and unintended consequences. As a result, qualitative researchers can contribute to One Health research and policy discussions by formulating more accurate and contextually-relevant parameters for future quantitative studies. When performed well, qualitative methodologies can help veterinary economists and epidemiologists to develop impactful research questions, to create more accurate and contextually-relevant parameters for quantitative studies, and to develop policy recommendations and interventions that are attuned to the political and socio-cultural context of their implementation. In sketching out the properties and features of influential methodologies, we underscore the value of working with seasoned qualitative researchers to incorporate questions about “what,” “how,” and “why” in mixed-methods research designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Degeling
- Faculty of Social Science, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Melanie Rock
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Hobson‐West P, Jutel A. Animals, veterinarians and the sociology of diagnosis. SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH & ILLNESS 2020; 42:393-406. [PMID: 31657051 PMCID: PMC7028051 DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
While sociologists of medicine have focused their efforts on understanding human health, illness, and medicine, veterinary medical practice has not yet caught their attention in any sustained way. In this critical review article, we use insights from the sociology of diagnosis literature to explore veterinary practice, and aim to demonstrate the importance of animals to sociological understandings of health, illness and disease. As in human medicine, our analysis shows the importance of diagnosis in creating and maintaining the power and authority of the veterinary professional. However, we then explore how diagnosis operates as a kind of dance, where professional authority can be challenged, particularly in light of the complex ethical responsibilities and clinical interactions that result from the triad of professional/owner/animal patient. Finally, we consider diagnosis via the precept of entanglement, and raise the intriguing possibility of interspecies health relations, whereby decision-making in human health care may be influenced by experiences in animal health care and vice-versa. In our conclusion, we argue that this analysis provides opportunities to scholars researching diagnosis in human health care, particularly around the impact of commercial drivers; has implications for veterinary and public health practitioners; and should help animate the emerging sociology of veterinary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pru Hobson‐West
- School of Sociology and Social PolicyUniversity of NottinghamNottinghamUK
| | - Annemarie Jutel
- Faculty of HealthVictoria University of WellingtonWellingtonNew Zealand
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Rock MJ. Who or what is ‘the public’ in critical public health? Reflections on posthumanism and anthropological engagements with One Health. CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2017.1288287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie J. Rock
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
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Caudell MA, Quinlan MB, Quinlan RJ, Call DR. Medical pluralism and livestock health: ethnomedical and biomedical veterinary knowledge among East African agropastoralists. JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE 2017; 13:7. [PMID: 28109305 PMCID: PMC5251319 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-017-0135-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human and animal health are deeply intertwined in livestock dependent areas. Livestock health contributes to food security and can influence human health through the transmission of zoonotic diseases. In low-income countries diagnosis and treatment of livestock diseases is often carried out by household members who draw upon both ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) and contemporary veterinary biomedicine (VB). Expertise in these knowledge bases, along with their coexistence, informs treatment and thus ultimately impacts animal and human health. The aim of the current study was to determine how socio-cultural and ecological differences within and between two livestock-keeping populations, the Maasai of northern Tanzania and Koore of southwest Ethiopia, impact expertise in EVM and VB and coexistence of the two knowledge bases. METHODS An ethnoveterinary research project was conducted to examine dimensions of EVM and VB knowledge among the Maasai (N = 142 households) and the Koore (N = 100). Cultural consensus methods were used to quantify expertise and the level of agreement on EVM and VB knowledge. Ordinary least squares regression was used to model patterns of expertise and consensus across groups and to examine associations between knowledge and demographic/sociocultural attributes. RESULTS Maasai and Koore informants displayed high consensus on EVM but only the Koore displayed consensus on VB knowledge. EVM expertise in the Koore varied across gender, herd size, and level of VB expertise. EVM expertise was highest in the Maasai but was only associated with age. The only factor associated with VB expertise was EVM expertise in the Koore. CONCLUSIONS Variation in consensus and the correlates of expertise across the Maassi and the Koore are likely related to differences in the cultural transmission of EVM and VB knowledge. Transmission dynamics are established by the integration of livestock within the socioecological systems of the Maasai and Koore and culture historical experiences with livestock disease. Consideration of the nature and coexistence of EVM and VB provides insight into the capacity of groups to cope with disease outbreaks, pharmaceutical use patterns, and the development of community health interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Caudell
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
| | - Marsha B. Quinlan
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
| | - Robert J. Quinlan
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
| | - Douglas R. Call
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA USA
- Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
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"But-He'll Fall!": Children with Autism, Interspecies Intersubjectivity, and the Problem of 'Being Social'. Cult Med Psychiatry 2015; 39:323-44. [PMID: 25926308 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-015-9446-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
'Being autistic' or 'having Autism Spectrum Disorder' implies a limited range of 'being social,' but the in situ organization of interaction, what Maynard and Marlaire (Qual Soc 15(2):177-202, 1992) call the 'interactional substrate,' within which this delimitation enfolds is usually hidden from sight. Analysis of processes constituting different 'interactional substrates' provides a view of how one comes to be known by and to self and others as a certain kind of being who is available (or not) for acting and feeling in certain ways. People diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013) are often described as 'being' impaired in intersubjective understanding of others. But the story of ASD as an impairment of sociality and intersubjectivity becomes more complicated when animals enter into the picture. I consider two interactional substrates: a psychological interview in a mental health clinic, and an animal-assisted activity in a child's neighborhood. I aim to elucidate the practical problems of 'being social' encountered by two children with ASD, both nine-year-old girls, within these two very differently organized interactional substrates. I consider ways in which 'being with' therapy animals provides a way of 'being social' through "sensory modalities of knowing" (Haraway, When species meet, 2008:371).
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Rock M, Degeling C. Public health ethics and a status for pets as person-things : revisiting the place of animals in urbanized societies. JOURNAL OF BIOETHICAL INQUIRY 2013; 10:485-495. [PMID: 24092400 DOI: 10.1007/s11673-013-9478-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Within the field of medical ethics, discussions related to public health have mainly concentrated on issues that are closely tied to research and practice involving technologies and professional services, including vaccination, screening, and insurance coverage. Broader determinants of population health have received less attention, although this situation is rapidly changing. Against this backdrop, our specific contribution to the literature on ethics and law vis-à-vis promoting population health is to open up the ubiquitous presence of pets within cities and towns for further discussion. An expanding body of research suggests that pet animals are deeply relevant to people's health (negatively and positively). Pet bylaws adopted by town and city councils have largely escaped notice, yet they are meaningful to consider in relation to everyday practices, social norms, and cultural values, and thus in relation to population health. Nevertheless, not least because they pivot on defining pets as private property belonging to individual people, pet bylaws raise emotionally charged ethical issues that have yet to be tackled in any of the health research on pet ownership. The literature in moral philosophy on animals is vast, and we do not claim to advance this field here. Rather, we pragmatically seek to reconcile philosophical objections to pet ownership with both animal welfare and public health. In doing so, we foreground theorizations of personhood and property from sociocultural anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Rock
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Population Health and Inequities Research Centre, Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada,
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Rock M. CONNECTING LIVES: REFLECTIONS ON A SYNDEMIC APPROACH TO PREVENTION INVOLVING RESEARCH ON HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO PETS. ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/napa.12006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Toohey AM, Rock MJ. Unleashing their potential: a critical realist scoping review of the influence of dogs on physical activity for dog-owners and non-owners. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2011; 8:46. [PMID: 21600036 PMCID: PMC3123259 DOI: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2010] [Accepted: 05/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Dog-owners tend to be more physically active than non-owners; however, dogs have also been shown to inhibit physical activity for non-owners, under some circumstances. Methods We conducted a scoping review to identify studies pertaining to the influence of dogs on physical activity for both dog-owners and non-owners, and adopted a critical realist orientation to draw inferences about the positive and negative impact of dogs via their affect on physical and social environments. Results We identified 35 studies from disparate literatures for review. These studies confirm that dog and owner behaviors affect shared physical and social environments in ways that may influence physical activity patterns, not only among dog-owners but also among non-owners. The direction of influence appears to be most positive in neighborhoods exhibiting high levels of social cohesion, socioeconomic status, perceived safety, dominant culture, or all of these. In disadvantaged neighborhoods, the health of women as well as older adults may be disproportionately affected by dog and owner behavior. Conclusions While dogs have the potential to increase physical activity for both dog-owners and non-owners, the presence or absence of dogs will not have a standard effect across the physical and social environments of all neighborhoods. Dogs' contributions to shared environments in ways that support physical activity for all must be leveraged. Thus, specific contextual factors must be considered in relation to dogs when planning neighborhood-level interventions designed to support physical activity. We suggest this population health topic merits further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann M Toohey
- Population Health Intervention Research Centre, University of Calgary, Teaching, Research and Wellness Building Room (3rd floor), 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
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People's Pets as Assets in Diabetes Prevention, Management and Awareness: Novel Insights from Social Research. Can J Diabetes 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/s1499-2671(11)54004-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Abstract
This article introduces the concept of trans-biopolitics to account for complexity in the intermingling of animal and human bodies, with particular attention to diseases capable of crossing the species divide from animals to humans. While zoonotic diseases never disappeared, they had re-emerged as pressing concerns by the 21st century. The concept of trans-biopolitics takes into account the power relations inherent in human and nonhuman lives in contemporary global, industrial, and technological formations. More specifically, trans-biopolitics revolves around practices determining whose lives are possible or legitimate to prolong, whose bodies are sacrificed in order to preserve the vitality of other bodies, and whose bodies are sustained yet ultimately rendered insignificant. To illustrate, we examine connections between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and feline spongiform encephalopathy, to show how certain bodies (humans, livestock) are taken into consideration in terms of health and food regulations, whereas other bodies (pets) remain at the periphery. Acknowledging human—animal relations in contemporary technological and global contexts challenges us to rethink ways in which the politics of health continues to evolve.
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Rock MJ. Harnessing social networks along with consumer-driven electronic communication technologies to identify and engage members of 'hard-to-reach' populations: a methodological case report. BMC Med Res Methodol 2010; 10:8. [PMID: 20089187 PMCID: PMC2824147 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2288-10-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2009] [Accepted: 01/20/2010] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sampling in the absence of accurate or comprehensive information routinely poses logistical, ethical, and resource allocation challenges in social science, clinical, epidemiological, health service and population health research. These challenges are compounded if few members of a target population know each other or regularly interact. This paper reports on the sampling methods adopted in ethnographic case study research with a 'hard-to-reach' population. Methods To identify and engage a small yet diverse sample of people who met an unusual set of criteria (i.e., pet owners who had been treating cats or dogs for diabetes), four sampling strategies were used. First, copies of a recruitment letter were posted in pet-friendly places. Second, information about the study was diffused throughout the study period via word of mouth. Third, the lead investigator personally sent the recruitment letter via email to a pet owner, who then circulated the information to others, and so on. Fourth, veterinarians were enlisted to refer people who had diabetic pets. The second, third and fourth strategies rely on social networks and represent forms of chain referral sampling. Results Chain referral sampling via email proved to be the most efficient and effective, yielding a small yet diverse group of respondents within one month, and at negligible cost. Conclusions The widespread popularity of electronic communication technologies offers new methodological opportunities for researchers seeking to recruit from hard-to-reach populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie J Rock
- Population Health Intervention Research Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
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