title: Can medicalization be good? Situating medicalization within bioethics.
abstract: Medicalization has been a process articulated primarily by social scientists, historians, and cultural critics. Comparatively little is written about the role of bioethics in appraising medicalization as a social process. The authors consider what medicalization means, its definition, functions, and criteria for assessment. A series of brief case sketches illustrate how bioethics can contribute to the analysis and public policy discussion of medicalization.
authors.affiliation: Division of Ethics and Health Policy, Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9070, USA. John.Sadler@UTSouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: John Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Sadler
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jotterand
authors.forename: Simon Craddock
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inrig
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D001675:Bioethics; D002410:Catholicism; D002608:Charities; D003643:Death; D004469:Economics, Hospital; D016519:Hospitals, Religious; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science; D008678:Metaphysics; D011203:Poverty; D028662:Principle-Based Ethics; D011639:Public Opinion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012945:Social Values