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Health:, Vol. 8, No. 3, 275-293 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1363459304043461
© 2004 SAGE Publications

Physicians’ Constructions of Depression: Inside/Outside the Boundaries of Medicalization

Roanne Thomas-MacLean

University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Janet M. Stoppard

University of New Brunswick, Canada, stoppard{at}unb.ca

A qualitative study explored primary care physicians’ experiences of diagnosing and treating depression. Twenty physicians participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview questions asked physicians to consider a range of topics such as the etiology of depression, the diagnostic process and treatment of depression. Transcripts were analyzed discursively with a view to exploring the ways in which physicians construct depression. In this article, physicians’ constructions of depression are examined through exploration of their descriptions of this condition, as well as their recognition of the social context of depression. Based on this analysis, it was concluded that physicians’ medicalized understandings of depression conflict with recognition of the social context of depression. The result of this conflict is dissonant descriptions of depression. One implication of this research is that physicians’ training would benefit from the integration of multidisciplinary perspectives on depression, which would better reflect physicians’ experiences in routine practice situations.

Key Words: depression • medicalization • primary care • qualitative research


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