Pastoral power in HIV prevention: Converging rationalities of care in Christian and medical practices in Papua New Guinea

Shih, P; Worth, H; Travaglia, J; Kelly-Hanku, A

Pastoral power in HIV prevention: Converging rationalities of care in Christian and medical practices in Papua New Guinea

Shih, P Worth, H Travaglia, J

Kelly-Hanku, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Social Science and Medicine, 2017, 193 pp. 51 - 58
Issue Date:: 2017-11-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Shih, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Worth, H	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Travaglia, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7537-0466	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kelly-Hanku, A	en_US
dc.date.available	2017-09-28	en_US
dc.date.issued	2017-11-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Social Science and Medicine, 2017, 193 pp. 51 - 58	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0277-9536	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/123419
dc.description.abstract	© 2017 In his conceptualisation of pastoral power, Michel Foucault argues that modern healthcare practices derive a specific power technique from pastors of the early Christian church. As experts in a position of authority, pastors practise the care of others through implicitly guiding them towards thoughts and actions that effect self-care, and towards a predefined realm of acceptable conduct, thus having a regulatory effect. This qualitative study of healthcare workers from two Christian faith-based organisations in Papua New Guinea examines the pastoral rationalities of HIV prevention practices which draw together globally circulated modern medical knowledge and Christian teachings in sexual morality for implicit social regulation. Community-based HIV awareness education, voluntary counselling and testing services, mobile outreach, and economic empowerment programs are standardised by promoting behavioural choice and individual responsibility for health. Through pastoral rationalities of care, healthcare practices become part of the social production of negative differences, and condemn those who become ill due to perceived immorality. This emphasis assumes that all individuals are equal in their ability to make behavioural choices, and downplays social inequality and structural drivers of HIV risk that are outside individual control. Given healthcare workers’ recognition of the structural drivers of HIV, yet the lack of language and practical strategies to address these issues, political commitment is needed to enhance structural competency among HIV prevention programs and healthcare workers.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Social Science and Medicine	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.09.049	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Public Health	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	HIV Infections	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Power (Psychology)	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Counseling	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Pastoral Care	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Qualitative Research	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Christianity	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Religion and Medicine	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Papua New Guinea	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Power, Psychological	en_US
dc.title	Pastoral power in HIV prevention: Converging rationalities of care in Christian and medical practices in Papua New Guinea	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	193	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
utslib.for	1601 Anthropology	en_US
utslib.for	1608 Sociology	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	14 Economics	en_US
utslib.for	16 Studies in Human Society	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CHSP - Health Services and Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	193	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017 In his conceptualisation of pastoral power, Michel Foucault argues that modern healthcare practices derive a specific power technique from pastors of the early Christian church. As experts in a position of authority, pastors practise the care of others through implicitly guiding them towards thoughts and actions that effect self-care, and towards a predefined realm of acceptable conduct, thus having a regulatory effect. This qualitative study of healthcare workers from two Christian faith-based organisations in Papua New Guinea examines the pastoral rationalities of HIV prevention practices which draw together globally circulated modern medical knowledge and Christian teachings in sexual morality for implicit social regulation. Community-based HIV awareness education, voluntary counselling and testing services, mobile outreach, and economic empowerment programs are standardised by promoting behavioural choice and individual responsibility for health. Through pastoral rationalities of care, healthcare practices become part of the social production of negative differences, and condemn those who become ill due to perceived immorality. This emphasis assumes that all individuals are equal in their ability to make behavioural choices, and downplays social inequality and structural drivers of HIV risk that are outside individual control. Given healthcare workers’ recognition of the structural drivers of HIV, yet the lack of language and practical strategies to address these issues, political commitment is needed to enhance structural competency among HIV prevention programs and healthcare workers.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/123419