... the literal meaning of the phrase is 'to make medical', it has most frequently been used in the context of a critique of medicalization. While sociologists have mostly concurred that medicalization refers to the process of problems entering the medical jurisdiction, they have offered different definitions. Friedson (1970) emphasised the jurisdictional mandate the medical profession has over anything that has been labelled an illness, regardless of its ability to deal with it effectively. Zola (1972: 495) defined medicalization as a "process whereby more and more areas of everyday life had come under medical supervision." He also drew attention to the fact that medicine operates as a powerful institution of social control. Conrad (1975) stated that medicalization consists of defining behaviour as a medical problem and mandating the medical profession to provide some treatment for it. Illich (1976) termed medicalization 'social iatrogenesis' and said that it resulted from medical imperialism; he ...

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