Who defines–who decides? Theorising the epistemic communities, communities of practice and interest groups in the healthcare field: a discursive approach

The aim of the paper is to propose a rethinking of the concept of epistemic communities in terms of their application in the discursive analysis of the field of healthcare. In the first part of the article, authors describe healthcare in the light of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory, and then the knowledge-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social theory & health 2019-06, Vol.17 (2), p.192-212
Main Authors: Wagner, Aleksandra, Polak, Paulina, Świątkiewicz-Mośny, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Communities of practice
Community
Discourse analysis
Discourses
Epistemology
Health care
Health services
Interest groups
Knowledge
Medical Sociology
Operational definitions
Original Article
Power
Public policy
Social activism
Social Sciences
Social Theory
Sociology
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Summary:The aim of the paper is to propose a rethinking of the concept of epistemic communities in terms of their application in the discursive analysis of the field of healthcare. In the first part of the article, authors describe healthcare in the light of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory, and then the knowledge-power relations are presented in the discourses in the field. It serves to propose a relational approach to the various discursive actions generated by the three groups—epistemic communities, communities of practice and interest groups which are distinguished analytically from each other. Authors conclude by illustrating a possible way of operationalization of the proposed categories using the examples of discursive actions in the healthcare field in Poland.
ISSN:1477-8211
1477-822X
DOI:10.1057/s41285-018-0073-6