IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v71y2010i9p1593-1600.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowledge, legitimacy and economic practice in informal markets for medicine: A critical review of research

Author

Listed:
  • Cross, Jamie
  • MacGregor, Hayley Nan

Abstract

Current debates and market based interventions in international public health seek to bring about explicit improvements in the quality of care offered by informal providers. In this paper we examine how informal providers are framed as problematic and question assumptions about what constitutes appropriate knowledge and expectations of how economic actors in the medical marketplace will behave. We argue that existing portraits of informal providers tend to establish clear cut distinctions between different kinds of practitioner; 'dis-embed' biomedical transactions from the broader relationships within which they take place; freeze or anatomise what are dynamic economic relationships between stakeholders, and obscure or ignore the position of informal providers in a global pharmaceutical supply chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Cross, Jamie & MacGregor, Hayley Nan, 2010. "Knowledge, legitimacy and economic practice in informal markets for medicine: A critical review of research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1593-1600, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:9:p:1593-1600
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00612-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bloom, Gerald & Standing, Hilary, 2008. "Future health systems: Why future? Why now?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2067-2075, May.
    2. Williams, Holly Ann & Jones, Caroline O. H., 2004. "A critical review of behavioral issues related to malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa:: what contributions have social scientists made?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 501-523, August.
    3. Leonard, Kenneth L., 2002. "When both states and markets fail: asymmetric information and the role of NGOs in African health care," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 61-80, July.
    4. Conteh, Lesong & Hanson, Kara, 2003. "Methods for studying private sector supply of public health products in developing countries: a conceptual framework and review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(7), pages 1147-1161, October.
    5. Kielmann, Karina & Deshmukh, Deepali & Deshpande, Sucheta & Datye, Vinita & Porter, John & Rangan, Sheela, 2005. "Managing uncertainty around HIV/AIDS in an urban setting: Private medical providers and their patients in Pune, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(7), pages 1540-1550, October.
    6. Peters, David H. & Muraleedharan, V.R., 2008. "Regulating India's health services: To what end? What future?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2133-2144, May.
    7. Baer, Hans A. & Singer, Merrill & Johnsen, John H., 1986. "Toward a critical medical anthropology," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 95-98, January.
    8. Khare, R. S., 1996. "Dava, Daktar, and Dua: Anthropology of practiced medicine in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 837-848, September.
    9. Berman, Peter A., 1998. "Rethinking health care systems: Private health care provision in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(8), pages 1463-1479, August.
    10. Standing, H. & Chowdhury, A. Mushtaque R., 2008. "Producing effective knowledge agents in a pluralistic environment: What future for community health workers?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2096-2107, May.
    11. Thaver, Inayat H. & Harpham, Trudy & McPake, Barbara & Garner, Paul, 1998. "Private practitioners in the slums of Karachi: what quality of care do they offer?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(11), pages 1441-1449, January.
    12. Kamat, Vinay R. & Nichter, Mark, 1998. "Pharmacies, self-medication and pharmaceutical marketing in Bombay, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 779-794, September.
    13. Ahmed, Syed Masud & Hossain, Md. Awlad, 2007. "Knowledge and practice of unqualified and semi-qualified allopathic providers in rural Bangladesh: Implications for the HRH problem," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(2-3), pages 332-343, December.
    14. Bloom, Gerald & Standing, Hilary & Lloyd, Robert, 2008. "Markets, information asymmetry and health care: Towards new social contracts," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2076-2087, May.
    15. Kamat, Vinay R., 2001. "Private practitioners and their role in the resurgence of malaria in Mumbai (Bombay) and Navi Mumbai (New Bombay), India: serving the affected or aiding an epidemic?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 885-909, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sieverding, Maia & Liu, Jenny & Beyeler, Naomi, 2015. "Social support in the practices of informal providers: The case of patent and proprietary medicine vendors in Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 17-25.
    2. Natalia Guerrero & Oswaldo Molina & Diego Winkelried, 2020. "Conditional cash transfers, spillovers, and informal health care: Evidence from Peru," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 111-122, February.
    3. Sujatha, V., 2023. "Of informal practitioners of biomedicine. The interplay of medicine, economy and society in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    4. Azunre, Gideon Abagna & Amponsah, Owusu & Takyi, Stephen Appiah & Mensah, Henry & Braimah, Imoro, 2022. "Urban informalities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A solution for or barrier against sustainable city development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Richard Andrew Iles, 2013. "Demand for primary healthcare in rural north India," 2013 Papers pil50, Job Market Papers.
    6. Hutchinson, Eleanor & Mundua, Sunday & Ochero, Lydia & Mbonye, Anthony & Clarke, Sian E., 2022. "Life in the buffer zone: Social relations and surplus health workers in Uganda's medicines retail sector," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    7. Andrew McNee, 2012. "Illuminating the local: can non-formal institutions be complementary to health system development in Papua New Guinea?," Development Policy Centre Discussion Papers 1215, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    8. Abdul Azeez E P & G. Anbu Selvi & Garima Sharma & Senthil Kumar A P, 2021. "What attracts and sustain urban poor to informal healthcare practitioners? A study on practitioners' perspectives and patients' experiences in an Indian city," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 83-99, January.
    9. George, Asha & Iyer, Aditi, 2013. "Unfree markets: Socially embedded informal health providers in northern Karnataka, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 297-304.
    10. May Sudhinaraset & Matthew Ingram & Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse & Dominic Montagu, 2013. "What Is the Role of Informal Healthcare Providers in Developing Countries? A Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-12, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. George, Asha & Iyer, Aditi, 2013. "Unfree markets: Socially embedded informal health providers in northern Karnataka, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 297-304.
    2. De Costa, Ayesha & Johannson, Eva, 2011. "By ‘default or design’? The expansion of the private health care sector in Madhya Pradesh, India," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 283-289.
    3. Miller, Rosalind & Hutchinson, Eleanor & Goodman, Catherine, 2018. "‘A smile is most important.’ Why chains are not currently the answer to quality concerns in the Indian retail pharmacy sector," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 9-16.
    4. Leonard, David K. & Bloom, Gerald & Hanson, Kara & O’Farrell, Juan & Spicer, Neil, 2013. "Institutional Solutions to the Asymmetric Information Problem in Health and Development Services for the Poor," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 71-87.
    5. Kielmann, Karina & Deshmukh, Deepali & Deshpande, Sucheta & Datye, Vinita & Porter, John & Rangan, Sheela, 2005. "Managing uncertainty around HIV/AIDS in an urban setting: Private medical providers and their patients in Pune, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(7), pages 1540-1550, October.
    6. Andrew McNee, 2012. "Illuminating the local: can non-formal institutions be complementary to health system development in Papua New Guinea?," Development Policy Centre Discussion Papers 1215, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    7. Auer, Christian & Lagahid, Jaime Y. & Tanner, Marcel & Weiss, Mitchell G., 2006. "Diagnosis and management of tuberculosis by private practitioners in Manila, Philippines," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 172-181, July.
    8. Bloom, Gerald & Wolcott, Sara, 2013. "Building institutions for health and health systems in contexts of rapid change," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 216-222.
    9. Joanne Yoong & Nicholas Burger & Connor Spreng & Neeraj Sood, 2010. "Private Sector Participation and Health System Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(10), pages 1-9, October.
    10. Clara Delavallade, 2017. "Quality Health Care and Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance Retention: A Randomized Experiment in Kolkata Slums," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 619-638, May.
    11. Bloom, Gerald, 2011. "Building institutions for an effective health system: Lessons from China's experience with rural health reform," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1302-1309, April.
    12. Delavallade, Clara, 2014. "Quality healthcare and health insurance retention: Evidence from a randomized experiment in the Kolkata slums:," IFPRI discussion papers 1352, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Sheikh, Kabir & Porter, John, 2010. "Discursive gaps in the implementation of public health policy guidelines in India: The case of HIV testing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 2005-2013, December.
    14. Mackay, Bruce, 2008. "From life insurance to safer sex - Reflections of a marketing man," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2168-2172, May.
    15. Simon Batchelor & Linda Waldman & Gerry Bloom & Sabrina Rasheed & Nigel Scott & Tanvir Ahmed & Nazib Uz Zaman Khan & Tamanna Sharmin, 2015. "Understanding Health Information Seeking from an Actor-Centric Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, July.
    16. Ergler, Christina R. & Sakdapolrak, Patrick & Bohle, Hans-Georg & Kearns, Robin A., 2011. "Entitlements to health care: Why is there a preference for private facilities among poorer residents of Chennai, India?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 327-337, February.
    17. Neeraj Sood & Nicholas Burger & Joanne Yoong & Dan Kopf & Connor Spreng, 2011. "Firm-Level Perspectives on Public Sector Engagement with Private Healthcare Providers: Survey Evidence from Ghana and Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-12, November.
    18. Colvin, Christopher J. & Smith, Helen J. & Swartz, Alison & Ahs, Jill W. & de Heer, Jodie & Opiyo, Newton & Kim, Julia C. & Marraccini, Toni & George, Asha, 2013. "Understanding careseeking for child illness in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and conceptual framework based on qualitative research of household recognition and response to child diarrhoea, ," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 66-78.
    19. Schensul, Stephen L. & Mekki-Berrada, Abdelwahed & Nastasi, Bonnie & Saggurti, Niranjan & Verma, Ravi K., 2006. "Healing traditions and men's sexual health in Mumbai, India: The realities of practiced medicine in urban poor communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2774-2785, June.
    20. Siddiqi, Sameen & Masud, Tayyeb I. & Nishtar, Sania & Peters, David H. & Sabri, Belgacem & Bile, Khalif M. & Jama, Mohamed A., 2009. "Framework for assessing governance of the health system in developing countries: Gateway to good governance," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 13-25, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:9:p:1593-1600. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.