Sixteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The purpose of my study is to explore care from the perspective of patients. I examine the current state of care in Ontario, Canada as a patient who has navigated the health system and as a researcher with background in critical disability studies and social geography. I use feminist auto/ethnographic methods of data collection, including observation, informal conversations with care providers and patients, journaling, and my patient records as data. I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven individuals who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery and two family members who provided informal care. Data is organized into three storylines: being patient, negotiating care, and mending fault lines. There are two layers of my analysis: patient encounters with carers alongside changing embodiment and the broader care relations of the health system. As austerity measures cut public financing for care and services are de-listed, care is increasingly commodified and informalized. My study reveals that neoliberalism produces poor and precarious working conditions for health providers and that this translates into insufficient care for patients and support for families.