Full Description
Side effects are common, but their origins and consequences remain unclear. Medications that target a disease can produce reactions far removed from it. Few side effects have been provably linked to a drug's active ingredients. But side effects matter: Many people are reluctant to take vaccines and other pharmaceuticals because of side effects, even if these reactions are minor compared to the disease a medication prevents or treats. Because side effects do not fit comfortably within the framework of modern medicine, they continue to confound.
This book uncovers the social origins of side effects and their consequences for patients, physicians, and the health care system. Jason Schnittker and Duy Do argue that side effects emerge from the interaction of cultural, institutional, and psychological factors. Side effects reflect how manufacturers and regulators evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a drug, as well as how physicians consider the risks and benefits. They are also influenced by the beliefs, expectations, and experiences that patients use to interpret their treatment and symptoms. Drawing on pharmaceutical data, surveys, and public opinion polls, Schnittker and Do develop a framework for understanding the social ecology of side effects. A keen sociological analysis of how we grapple with medicine's unintended consequences, this book shows how side effects are shaped by their social context.
Contents
Introduction. Unintended Consequences in the Making of a Pharmaceutical Nation
1. Common Side Effects
2. The Biological and Psychological Origins of Side Effects
3. The Extensive Efficacy of Pharmaceuticals
4. The Pervasive and Growing Nocebo Effect
5. Double Blind: Institutional and Organizational Influences on Side Effects
6. A Matter of Faith: Patients, Trust, and the Interpretation of Side Effects
7. To Abstain from All Intentional Harm: The Treatment of Side Effects in Clinical Settings
8. Side Effects and the Paradoxes of Mental Health: The Case of Depression
9. Vulnerability, Side Effects, and the COVID-19 Vaccine
Epilogue. A Paradox of Progress and the Future of Side Effects
Acknowledgments
Data Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
