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This volume brings together two parallel fields of interest. One is
the understanding among psychologists and other social scientists
of the limits to psychometric measurement, and the challenges in
generating information about quality of life and wellbeing that
enable comparison across time and place, at both individual and
population levels. The second is the interest among anthropologists
and others in the lived experience of chronic illness and
disability, including the unpredictable fluctuations in perceived
health and capability. Chronic conditions and physical impairments
are assumed to impact negatively on people's quality of life,
affecting them psychologically, socially and economically. While
some of these conditions have declined in prevalence, as a result
of prenatal diagnosis, early successful interventions, and changes
in medical technology and surgery, many of these conditions are on
the increase as a consequence of improved life-saving medication
and technology, and greater longevity. 'Quality of life' is often
used as an indicator for successful and high quality health
services, and good access to medical attention and surgery - for
hip replacements or laser surgery to improve vision, for instance.
But it is also used as an argument against interventions, when such
interventions are seen to prolong life for its own sake. Yet we
also know that people vary their idea of quality as a result of the
context of fluctuations in their own health status, the presence or
absence of pain or discomfort, and as a result of variations in
social and economic contextual factors. In exploring these
questions, this volume contributes to emerging debates related to
individual health outcomes, but also to the social and other
individual determinants that influence everyday life. Understanding
these broader contextual factors will contribute to our knowledge
of the kinds of services, support systems, and infrastructure that
provide people with good 'quality of life' and a sense of
wellbeing, regardless of their physical health, capability and
functioning. The volume includes scholars from all continents who
have been encouraged to think critically, and to engage with the
descriptive, methodological, social, policy and clinical
implications of their work.
This volume brings together two parallel fields of interest. One is
the understanding among psychologists and other social scientists
of the limits to psychometric measurement, and the challenges in
generating information about quality of life and wellbeing that
enable comparison across time and place, at both individual and
population levels. The second is the interest among anthropologists
and others in the lived experience of chronic illness and
disability, including the unpredictable fluctuations in perceived
health and capability. Chronic conditions and physical impairments
are assumed to impact negatively on people's quality of life,
affecting them psychologically, socially and economically. While
some of these conditions have declined in prevalence, as a result
of prenatal diagnosis, early successful interventions, and changes
in medical technology and surgery, many of these conditions are on
the increase as a consequence of improved life-saving medication
and technology, and greater longevity. 'Quality of life' is often
used as an indicator for successful and high quality health
services, and good access to medical attention and surgery - for
hip replacements or laser surgery to improve vision, for instance.
But it is also used as an argument against interventions, when such
interventions are seen to prolong life for its own sake. Yet we
also know that people vary their idea of quality as a result of the
context of fluctuations in their own health status, the presence or
absence of pain or discomfort, and as a result of variations in
social and economic contextual factors. In exploring these
questions, this volume contributes to emerging debates related to
individual health outcomes, but also to the social and other
individual determinants that influence everyday life. Understanding
these broader contextual factors will contribute to our knowledge
of the kinds of services, support systems, and infrastructure that
provide people with good 'quality of life' and a sense of
wellbeing, regardless of their physical health, capability and
functioning. The volume includes scholars from all continents who
have been encouraged to think critically, and to engage with the
descriptive, methodological, social, policy and clinical
implications of their work.
In the cultural imagination, midlife signifies the onset of ageing
and is thus framed in a discourse of decline. For women, it is
often considered in terms of menopause and the end of fecundity and
fertility. This book proposes that women's experience of midlife is
much broader than this; instead, it is characterised by
transformation in multiple life domains and health status is
important. The continuity theory of ageing is useful here: identity
is re/constructed during the ageing process in response to changing
bodily circumstances, such as health problems. Women in rural
Australia described how health status shaped their midlife
experiences and mediated their identity construction. For them,
midlife was about reconstructing their identity to incorporate
their changed health status. Interrogating health and illness in
the ageing process has important implications for midlife health
promotion. indings suggest that health services, and the cultural
scripts informing them, need to incorporate the diverse needs,
goals and aspirations of midlife women. This analysis should be
useful to a range of health professionals concerned with women's
health from the middle years and beyond.
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