A breath of fresh air: images of respiratory illness in novels, poems, films, music, and paintings

Journal of Health Psychology
Ad A KapteinJoshua M Smyth

Abstract

The nature and severity of respiratory disease are typically expressed with biomedical measures such as pulmonary function, X-rays, blood tests, and other physiological characteristics. The impact of respiratory illness on the sufferer, however, is reflected in the stories patients tell: to themselves, their social environment, and their health care providers. Behavioral research often applies standardized questionnaires to assess this subjective impact. Additional approaches to sampling patients' experience of respiratory illness may, however, provide important and clinically useful information that is not captured by other methods. Herein, we assert that novels, poems, movies, music, and paintings may represent a rich, experiential understanding of the patient's point of view of asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, and tuberculosis. Examination of these works illustrates the broad range and major impact of respiratory illness on patients' quality of life. We suggest that examining how illness is represented in various art forms may help patients, their social environment, and their health care providers in coping with the illness and in humanizing medical care. Medical students' clinical skills may benefit when illness exper...Continue Reading

References

Feb 4, 1998·BMJ : British Medical Journal·F Meulenberg
Jan 7, 2000·Allergy and Asthma Proceedings·S G Cohen
Oct 10, 2001·Chest·M J Berry
May 11, 2005·Journal of Neurosurgery·Adrian CaceresTadanori Tomita
Jul 10, 2008·Journal of General Internal Medicine·Sheila NaghshinehJoel T Katz
Jul 10, 2008·The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma·Ad A KapteinKlaus F Rabe
Oct 28, 2008·The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma·Ad A KapteinJohn Weinman
Feb 25, 2009·Journal of Health Psychology·Michael Murray
Feb 25, 2009·Journal of Health Psychology·Ad A Kaptein, Antonia C Lyons
Nov 26, 2009·The Journal of Medical Humanities·Howard Brody
May 28, 2010·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Jakob Ousager, Helle Johannessen
Dec 30, 2010·Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology·Alok A KhoranaDavid N Korones
Jul 16, 2011·Medical Humanities·Johanna Shapiro
Nov 1, 2011·Medical Humanities·Angela Woods
Dec 13, 2012·Quality of Life Research : an International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation·M BauerK Schwartzman
Mar 5, 2013·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·John F Murray
Jun 1, 2006·Medical Humanities·M-A Dürrigl, S Fatovic-Ferencic
Jul 3, 2013·Health Psychology : Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association·Sarah DenfordColin J Greaves
Jan 1, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Lauri NummenmaaJari K Hietanen
Jan 28, 2014·The Lancet. Respiratory Medicine·Ad A KapteinJoshua M Smyth
May 30, 2014·Medical Humanities·Claire Charlotte McKechnie
Sep 13, 2014·International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease·Ad A KapteinMargreet Scharloo

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Nov 2, 2015·Lung Cancer : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer·Ad A KapteinMaarten J Fischer
Mar 13, 2015·Journal of Health Psychology·Anneke M SoolsGerben J Westerhof
Jan 11, 2019·BMC Medical Ethics·Anna-Henrikje Seidlein, Sabine Salloch
Mar 20, 2018·Health Psychology Open·Ad A KapteinJoshua M Smyth
Mar 20, 2020·Clinical Medicine : Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London·Desmond O'NeillHilary Moss
Oct 13, 2020·ERJ Open Research·Freya BerenyiNatasha Smallwood

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
Biopsy
imaging techniques

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Allergy and Asthma

Allergy and asthma are inflammatory disorders that are triggered by the activation of an allergen-specific regulatory t cell. These t cells become activated when allergens are recognized by allergen-presenting cells. Here is the latest research on allergy and asthma.

Asthma

This feed focuses in Asthma in which your airways narrow and swell. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.