title: Why do the O'Sheas consult so often? An exploration of complex family illness behaviour.
abstract: Complex illness behaviour can be seen as a product of dysfunctional communication between doctors and patients. A methodology to understand such behaviour is described: it uses case record analysis and meetings with patients and health teams to create a set of family trees and graphs of consultation patterns; these are the basis on which to generate and test hypotheses. This model is used to explore the consultation rates of a family between the 1940s and 1988. Illness behaviours increased rapidly during the 1980s at a time when both the family and their general practitioners were undergoing rapid changes and losing significant members. Mutually unacknowledged depression may have been a key factor. Strategies for change are suggested.
authors.affiliation: University of Liverpool, U.K.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dowrick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012803:Sick Role; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom