Weiner, Kate and Will, Catherine (2016) Users, non-users and resistance. In: Hyysalo, Sampsa, Jensen, Torben Elgaard and Oudshoorn, Nelly (eds.) The New Production of Users Changing Innovation Collectives and Involvement Strategies. Routledge. ISBN 9781138124561

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Abstract

This paper considers the uses and non-uses of a particular class of pharmaceutical - statins - drawing on UK fieldwork. These drugs to lower cholesterol have become widely available on prescription, but may not be accepted by patients. In medical sociology the non-use of medicines has been described through the lens of ‘resistance’, as a counter to medical concerns with adherence, yet these discussions have not referred to STS ideas about the uses and non-uses of technologies. We examine points of articulation and difference between these frameworks. In particular we consider the value of Wyatt’s (2003) taxonomy of non-users for our case. Our analysis draws attention to the potential transience of use and non-use over time and the social relations through which this might be mediated. In doing this, we suggest an analytical shift from the identity of actors as users or non-users to the practices of use and non-use.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	non-use, resistance, temporalities, mediation, practice
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology
Subjects:	H Social Sciences H Social Sciences > HM Sociology R Medicine R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > R Medicine (General) > R855 Medical technology
Depositing User:	Catherine Will
Date Deposited:	28 Sep 2017 13:44
Last Modified:	28 Sep 2017 13:44
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/70369

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