Programska knjižnica 9. Lošinjskih dana bioetike - Hrvatsko ...

THE POPULAR LITERATURE
ON HUMAN HEALTH
Popular literature which deals with treatment methods practiced and
taught in medicine, comes in the form of books or periodical magazines,
and is accompanied by the daily newspapers or web portals. A common
characteristic of popular literature on health is a declarative action for
moral reasons – action which is caused by the sense of duty to disseminate
information that could improve quality of life. This literature differs in the
way in which informations are analyzed and presented to the public, and
can be divided into three groups: promotional, informational and literature
of fear. Promotional literature, to which the easiest access is through free
or cheap magazines, provides information on disorders and diseases, and
tips on how to reduce health problems, avoid or prevent them. Authors of
such texts are usually specialists in certain areas of medical knowledge,
and they are often accompanied by the propaganda material of medical facilities
and techniques, tools, medicines and various preparations. Furthermore,
there is informative literature for the public, which is trying to give
as much detailed insight to the medical knowledge and practice as possible
to lay people. Among them are the books that address the functioning
of the health system by analyzing the functioning of the pharmaceutical
industry, health insurance companies and public health institutions, the
procedures which lead to the definitions of the diseases, and methods of
system abuse. The growing insecurity – the fear of disease and lack of
confidence in the methods of treatment of the official medicine – favors
the propaganda of the literature of fear. The literature of fear simultaneously
spreads both the fear of disease and the fear of medication and treatments
by the official medicine. Its message can be summarized by the
slogan of one of its popular books: “If you continue to take medicines, you
will surely get sick.” Such literature provides easily understood instructions
for self-help procedures and often guarantees absolute success in improving
health. It also often recommends “natural” medicines and methods,
i.e. recommends, as the authors understand, the use of natural resources
unspoiled by technology.
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