Dag Album

• Johannessen, Lars E. F.; Album, Dag & Rasmussen, Erik Børve (2020). Do nurses rate diseases according to prestige? A survey study. Journal of Advanced Nursing. ISSN 0309-2402. 76(7), p. 1691–1697. doi: 10.1111/jan.14394. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Aims: To see whether nurses rate diseases according to prestige and, if so, how their ratings compare to the disease prestige hierarchy previously uncovered among physicians. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: In 2014, 122 nurses in a continuing education programme for healthcare personnel in Norway rated a sample of 38 diseases according to how prestigious they see these as being among healthcare workers in general. Results: The nurses were found to rank myocardial infarction, leukaemia, and brain stroke at the top of the prestige hierarchy and depressive neurosis, anxiety neurosis, and fibromyalgia at the bottom. Their rankings overlap significantly with those previously documented for physicians and suggest that nurses assess the diseases through a ‘cure’ rather than a ‘care’ perspective on health care. Conclusion: The nurses ordered diseases in a prestige hierarchy and their rankings are strikingly like those of physicians. The findings are of significant relevance to nursing practice and set a new course for future research into prestige and nursing culture. Impact: The findings should encourage nurses – individually and collectively – to reflect on whether and how notions of disease prestige influence their decision-making. By showing that nurses as well as physicians are able to rate diseases according to prestige, the study suggests new avenues for future disease prestige research.

• Album, Dag; Johannessen, Lars E. F. & Rasmussen, Erik Børve (2017). Stability and change in disease prestige: A comparative analysis of three surveys spanning a quarter of a century. Social Science and Medicine. ISSN 0277-9536. 180, p. 45–51. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.020. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this paper, we present a comparative analysis of three survey studies of disease prestige in medical culture. The studies were conducted in 1990, 2002 and 2014 using the same research design. In each of the three rounds, a sample of Norwegian physicians was asked to rate a set of 38 diseases on a scale from 1 to 9 according to the prestige they believed health personnel in general would award them. The results show a remarkable stability in the prestige rank order over 25 years. The top three diseases in all three surveys were leukaemia, brain tumour and myocardial infarction. The four lowest ranked were fibromyalgia, depressive neurosis, anxiety neurosis and hepatocirrhosis. The most notable change concerns apoplexy (brain stroke), which moved from a rank of 33 to 29 and then to 23 over the three rounds. We argue that the stable pattern, as well as this change, substantiate the interpretation of previous research, i.e. that the prestige of a disease is affected by the localization of the affected organ or body part, the effect and style of its typical treatment, and the social attributes of the typical patient. Analysing physicians’ shared evaluations of different diseases, the paper contributes to the cultural understanding of disease conceptions in medicine. Understanding these conceptions is important because disease prestige may influence decision-making in the healthcare sector.

• Haldar, Marit; Engebretsen, Eivind & Album, Dag (2016). Legitimating the illegitimate: How doctors manage their knowledge of the prestige of diseases. Health. ISSN 1363-4593. 20(6), p. 559–577. doi: 10.1177/1363459315596798. Full text in Research Archive
• Johannessen, Lars Emil Fagernes & Album, Dag (2015). Utenfor kroppen: Kulturanalytiske studier av sykdom. In Larsen, Håkon (Eds.), Kultursosiologisk forskning. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215024998. p. 143–156. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Begrepet sykdom fikk tidlig en fremtredende plass i sosiologien. Det skjedde da Talcott Parsons (1951) innførte «sykerollen» som sitt fremste empiriske eksempel på en funksjonell ordning i hovedverket The Social System. Med det gjorde han også medisinsk sosiologi, inkludert sykdomssosiologi, til en viktig gren av faget. Mens Parsons var mest opptatt av sykerollens samfunnsfunksjoner, har andre forskere i den grenen av sosiologien som kalles medisinsk sosiologi eller sosiologi om helse og sykdom, interessert seg for hvordan syke mennesker forstår tilstanden de er i, og hvordan de ter seg med den. På engelsk kalles lekfolks sykdomsforståelse for «illness». Her har kulturanalyse hatt stor plass. Det som derimot bare såvidt er i ferd med å skje, er å betrakte medisinens sykdomsforståelse, «disease», i slike perspektiv. Bevegelsen fra en essensialistisk til en konstruksjonistisk forståelse av «disease» er bakgrunnen for denne artikkelen, hvor vi skal diskutere noen trekk ved medisinsk tenkning kulturanalytisk. Vi skal konsentrere oss om sykdomsoppfatninger, især de verdiladninger som uformell medisinsk kultur knytter til sykdommer og diagnoser. Artikkelen begynner med en diskusjon av ulike sykdomsforståelser i sosiologien, samt forskningen knyttet til disse. Herunder vil vi også diskutere den fremvoksende diagnosesosiologien, som utgjør et særlig interessant utgangspunkt for kulturanalytisk forskning på «disease». Deretter følger artikkelens hoveddel, om forskningen på sykdomsprestisje, som representerer en videreutvikling av det diagnosesosiologiske perspektivet. Her vil vi først presentere begrepet sykdomsprestisje og dets opprinnelse. Deretter vil vi gi en lengre presentasjon av sykdomsfortellinger i medisinsk kultur, før vi til slutt diskuterer sykdomsprestisjens virkning.

• Album, Dag (2013). Uformell prioritering i sykehus: nye subprofesjoners betydning. In Molander, Anders & Smeby, Jens Christian (Ed.), Profesjonsstudier 2. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215019314. p. 122–129. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag & Engebretsen, Eivind (2013). Sykdomsprestisje. Praktiske grunde. Nordisk tidsskrift for kultur- og samfundsvidenskab. 7(1-2), p. 85–92. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2010). Den ene undersøkelsen etter den andre. In Album, Dag; Hansen, Marianne Nordli & Widerberg, Karin (Ed.), Metodene våre. Eksempler fra samfunnsvitenskapelig forskning. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215014920. p. 253–271. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken presenterer sosiologenes metodearsenal i form av fortellinger fra virkeligheten. Erfarne sosiologer skriver om egne erfaringer. Boken behandler ikke samfunnsvitenskapelig metode i generelle, allmenne, abstrakte termer. Den trekker snarere fram hvordan metoder og metodeutfordringer kommer fram i det konkrete. Forskningsspørsmålene står i sentrum, og det går tydelig fram hvordan metoder er midler til å framskaffe kunnskap, og hvordan bestemte metoder og bruken av dem avgjør hva slags svar eller kunnskap som kan bli produsert. Sammen representerer bidragsyterne et bredt spekter av tema og metodologiske innfallsvinkler.

• Album, Dag (2010). Close strangers: Patient-patient interaction rituals in acute care hospitals. In Jacobsen, Michael Hviid (Eds.), The Contemporary Goffman. Routledge. ISSN 9780415996815. p. 352–373. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag & Westin, Steinar (2008). Do diseases have a prestige hierarchy? A survey among physicians and medical students. Social Science and Medicine. ISSN 0277-9536. 66(1), p. 182–188. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.07.003. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2008). Helt alminnelige pasienter. In Tjora, Aksel (Eds.), Den moderne pasienten. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205380974. p. 157–172. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag & Westin, Steinar (2007). Do diseases have a prestige hierarchy? A survey among psysicans and medical students. Social Science and Medicine. ISSN 0277-9536. 66(e-publikasjon), p. 182–188. Full text in Research Archive
• Nørredam, Marie & Album, Dag (2007). Prestige and its significance for medical specialties and diseases. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. ISSN 1403-4948. 35, p. 655–661. doi: 10.1080/14034940701362137. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Aims: The aim of this paper is to review the literature concerning the existence of prestige hierarchies for medical specialities and diseases. Moreover, the implications of prestige for priority setting in healthcare systems are discussed. Methods: The study is based on a review of the literature. Papers were obtained through the National Library of Medicine, PubMed. The search was conducted on 14 July 2005, and included articles from 1950 until that date. The medical subject headings "disease", "illness", and "medical specialities" were combined with the search word "prestige". A total of 183 papers were found. Only studies focusing on prestige hierarchies for medical specialities and diseases were included. The final search identified 20 articles, six of which specifically established hierarchies for medical specialities and diseases. Results: The review documented prestige hierarchies for medical specialities and diseases. Explanatory characteristics behind the distribution of prestige were identified. It was demonstrated that active, specialized, biomedical, and high-technological types of medicine practised on organs in the upper part of the bodies of young or middle-aged people were accorded high levels of prestige. Medicine with the opposite characteristics had low levels of prestige. Conclusions: Medical specialities and diseases differ with regard to prestige. Characteristics related to specialties and diseases determine their prestige. The authors suggest that differences in prestige bear consequences for actual priority setting in healthcare systems, and contend that this should be further investigated.

• Album, Dag & Nørredam, Marie (2006). Forskelle og uligheder i sygdom og sundhed - hvilken rolle spiller prestige? In Vallgårda, Signild & Koch, Lene (Ed.), Forskel og lighed i sundhed og sygdom. Munksgaard Forlag. ISSN 9788762805774. p. 55–69. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2002). Parsoniansk frigjørende sosiologi. Yngvar Løchens Idealer og realiteter som eksempel på norsk funksjonalisme. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning (TfS). ISSN 0040-716X. 43(4), p. 569–586. Full text in Research Archive

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• Album, Dag; Hansen, Marianne Nordli & Widerberg, Karin (2010). Metodene våre. Eksempler fra samfunnsvitenskapelig forskning. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788215014920. 320 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken presenterer sosiologenes metodearsenal i form av fortellinger fra virkeligheten. Erfarne sosiologer skriver om egne erfaringer. Boken behandler ikke samfunnsvitenskapelig metode i generelle, allmenne, abstrakte termer. Den trekker snarere fram hvordan metoder og metodeutfordringer kommer fram i det konkrete. Forskningsspørsmålene står i sentrum, og det går tydelig fram hvordan metoder er midler til å framskaffe kunnskap, og hvordan bestemte metoder og bruken av dem avgjør hva slags svar eller kunnskap som kan bli produsert. Sammen representerer bidragsyterne et bredt spekter av tema og metodologiske innfallsvinkler.

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• Album, Dag (2016). Prioritering av sykdommer. [TV]. Lørdagsrevyen NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2016). Sykdomshierarkiet. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2016). Skambelagte sykdommer. [Journal]. Dagbladet. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2015). Stigmasykdommer og statussykdommer. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2015). Prestisje i medisinen: Skjult prioritering i sykehusene? Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag (2014). Uformell prioritering. Full text in Research Archive
• Haldar, Marit; Storm-Mathisen, Ardis; Helle-Valle, Jo Helge & Album, Dag (2012). Grounded Theory og andre empiriskorienterte analysemetoder. Phd-kurs i kvalitative metoder. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag; Hansen, Marianne Nordli & Widerberg, Karin (2010). Introduksjon. In Album, Dag; Hansen, Marianne Nordli & Widerberg, Karin (Ed.), Metodene våre. Eksempler fra samfunnsvitenskapelig forskning. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215014920. p. 7–14. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken presenterer sosiologenes metodearsenal i form av fortellinger fra virkeligheten. Erfarne sosiologer skriver om egne erfaringer. Boken behandler ikke samfunnsvitenskapelig metode i generelle, allmenne, abstrakte termer. Den trekker snarere fram hvordan metoder og metodeutfordringer kommer fram i det konkrete. Forskningsspørsmålene står i sentrum, og det går tydelig fram hvordan metoder er midler til å framskaffe kunnskap, og hvordan bestemte metoder og bruken av dem avgjør hva slags svar eller kunnskap som kan bli produsert. Sammen representerer bidragsyterne et bredt spekter av tema og metodologiske innfallsvinkler.

• Album, Dag (2002). The Prestige of Diseases. A Hidden Factor Behind Priority Bias? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Diseases are often employed as units in studies of systems of health care priority settings, especially in discussions about how such systems ought to be, where the seriousness of the diseases and the (cost) effectiveness of treatments are submitted as types of differentiating criteria. There are fewer empirical investigations on how diseases are actually prioritized in current medicine. We know little about how actual and ideal systems of priority differ from one another, and less concerning the principles underlying existing systems of priority. This paper contributes to the discussion about underlying principles by introducing the prestige of diseases as a possible factor influencing actual priorities; it also presents certain empirical findings concerning the prestige hierarchy of diseases. The prestige of diseases has hitherto not been the theme of empirical investigations. The concept of prestige is best known from sociological research on occupations, where theoretical as well as empirical studies of social stratification have long traditions. Here, sociological models are applied to the study of diseases. The prestige of diseases simply means that, according to a shared and intersubjective evaluation among members of the medical culture, certain diseases are considered superior to other diseases. Empirically, the prestige of diseases was first researched eleven years ago, in a survey of Norwegian physicians. They ranked 38 diseases according to how they thought these diseases were ranked in the health care sector. The sample-set was designed to cover diseases of different kinds, including chronic and acute, located in different organs, effective treatment prospects, both men¿s and women¿s diseases. In a recent similar study, the prestige hierarchy of diseases was nearly identical, pointing to a consistent and well-established aspect of medical culture. In both surveys the highest-ranked diseases were heart infarction, leukaemia and brain tumours. The lowest ranked were fibrositis and anxiety neurosis. Among factors that seem to positively influence the level of prestige, are the organs (if any) where the diseases are located, acuteness and lethality, heavy use of technology in and effectiveness of treatment, and age and gender of the typical patient. Some of these criteria are identical to those used in the normative systems mentioned while others are not, suggesting a bias between ideal and actual priority. It is possible that the perceived prestige of diseases influences decision making of many types on many levels of health care. Aggregated, these decisions may determine the actual systems of priority. Thus, shared implicit understandings of the prestige ranking of diseases may affect the priority ranking of the diseases.

• Album, Dag; Benkow, J.; Brofoss, Knut; Brundtland, G.; Buttedahl, A. & Evensen, Stein A. [Show all 15 contributors for this article] (1997). Prioritering på ny. Gjennomgang av retninglinjer for prioriteringer innen norsk helsetjeneste. Norges offentlige utredninger. Full text in Research Archive
• Hjellnes, Siv & Album, Dag (1992). Bilder av fengselsbetjenter i ulike rammer: en kvalitativ analyse av fortellinger om å være fengselsbetjent. Hjellnes. Full text in Research Archive
• Album, Dag; Haavelsrud, Magnus & Johnsen, Jon T. (1976). Undervisning om juridiske rettigheter og plikter i skolen. UiT Norges arktiske universitet. Full text in Research Archive

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