A sociological study of the structure and transformation of "organized autonomy" of medical profession

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K04137
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University
• Principal Investigator: Nakagawa Teruhiko 熊本大学, 大学院人文社会科学研究部(文), 教授 (10440885)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 田中 朋弘 熊本大学, 大学院人文社会科学研究部(文), 教授 (90295288)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 専門家システム / 専門職 / 医療 / 医学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we attempted to describe the structure and transformation of "organized autonomy" in the Japanese medical profession, and in particular, to develop a theoretical framework for this purpose. There are two main issues to be addressed. The first is to reconfigure existing professional theories constructed on the premise of U.S. society into a more flexible framework. The second is to take into account the global network of medicine (practice) and medical science (research).
Regarding the first issue, we have found a lost potential in the development from Hughes' theory of professions to Freidson's theory of professions. For the second issue, we examined the EBM movement and how it has developed in global expert systems and how it relates to the institutionalization of EBM in national societies.

Free Research Field

社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的貢献は、グローバル化が進展した諸社会を対象とする医療社会学の理論構築への寄与があげられる。本研究は、一国の社会の変動だけに焦点をあわせた分析ではなく、複数の社会の変動を相互に関係付けながら分析することの可能な理論枠組みの構築に寄与した。本研究の社会的な貢献は、残念ながら間接的なものに留まる。しかし本研究が提示した、日本医療をグローバルな展開の中で把握する視点は、医療政策をめぐる公共的な議論にも貢献することが期待される。