Biomedicalization and Alcohol Studies: Implications for Policy

The reduction of alcohol problems to genetic and biological processes is not new; however, biomedicalization is progressively dominating how alcohol issues are viewed in the U.S. This paper illustrates the process of biomedicalization in the alcohol field by examining: 1) the organizational move of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public health policy 2004-01, Vol.25 (2), p.211-228
Main Author: Midanik, Lorraine T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol drinking
Alcoholic beverages
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - drug therapy
Alcoholism - genetics
Alcoholism - prevention & control
Alcohols
Alzheimer's disease
Biomedical research
Congressional committees
Dementia
Disease prevention
Drug abuse
Environmental factors
Funding
Genetics
Government Spending
Grants
Health care industry
Health Policy
Health services
Health Services Research
Humans
Medical Research
Medicalization
Mental health care
Prevention
Psychiatry
Public health
Reproductive health
Research grants
Social conditions
Substance abuse treatment
Testimony
United States
United States of America
United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - economics
United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - legislation & jurisprudence
United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - organization & administration
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Summary:The reduction of alcohol problems to genetic and biological processes is not new; however, biomedicalization is progressively dominating how alcohol issues are viewed in the U.S. This paper illustrates the process of biomedicalization in the alcohol field by examining: 1) the organizational move of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to the National Institutes of Health in 1992; 2) the emphasis on biomedical goals in NIAAA's five-year Strategic Plan; 3) increased NIAAA funding of biomedical research from 1990-2002; and, 4) trends in the growing proportion of biomedical information provided in NIAAA's Reports to Congress. The implications of this dominance of the biomedical approach on policy are profound. As biomedicalization prevails as a dominant lens by which alcohol problems are framed, policymakers will tend to move towards individualistic solutions to social problems. Broader community and societal based efforts to understand and control alcohol problems may be increasingly replaced by a focus on individuals thereby omitting important environmental factors.
ISSN:0197-5897
1745-655X
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3190021