title: Caring For Evidence: Research and Care in an Obesity Outpatient Clinic.
abstract: In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in bariatric surgery rates. This form of obesity treatment is often subjected to the critique that it turns patients into passive objects of medical intervention. Similarly, efforts to 'rationalize' medicine, as in evidence-based medicine, are sometimes denounced for imposing a 'one-size-fits-all' approach that neglects patient diversity. We argue that these critiques fail to do justice to the complexities of actual care situations. In our ethnographic study of a project for bariatric pre- and aftercare, we show how research protocols not only close down but also open up spaces for patient-centered care. Despite professional cautions, experiences of stigma and broader imaginations of biomedical care often lead patients to embrace surgery as a treatment conceptualized as a technological fix. We argue that investigations of how research and clinical practice intertwine need to be both empirically grounded and sensitive to wider societal contexts.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Science and Technology Studies , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Felder
authors.affiliation: a Department of Science and Technology Studies , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Felt
authors.affiliation: a Department of Science and Technology Studies , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Penkler
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D060432:Anthropology, Medical; D050110:Bariatric Surgery; D035843:Biomedical Research; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D018802:Patient-Centered Care
keywords: Bariatric surgery; evidence-based medicine; objectification; patient-centered medicine; standardization