Subject positions of British South Asian women with inflammatory bowel disease: a Foucauldian discourse analysis

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among British South Asians (BSA) is increasing. Evidence suggests that people of BSA background are more likely to develop IBD than white Europeans. Research on women with IBD is primarily focused on reproduction, which limits our understanding of their IBD experience and its consequences. This study aimed to investigate how BSA women discursively construct their experience of IBD, how this links to overarching sociocultural and medical discourses, and what the disciplines of counselling psychology (CP) and health can do to improve it. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight BSA women with IBD and analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA). The analysis revealed subject positions sourced in sociocultural and medical discourses. These were the Seeker Woman, the Private Woman, the Flawed Woman, and the Empowered Woman. These subject positions illustrate how sociocultural factors and medical practices influence BSA women’s subjectivity and actions. The study indicated that BSA gender stereotypes and attitudes towards women impact their experience and highlighted the societal dynamics that medical professionals, mental health providers, and politicians must address to deliver care customised to the specific needs of BSA women with IBD. Suggestions and recommendations for future research and policy are made.

Citation

Stavroulaki, A. (2024) Subject positions of British South Asian women with inflammatory bowel disease: a Foucauldian discourse analysis. University of Wolverhampton. http://hdl.handle.net/2436/625819

Publisher

University of Wolverhampton

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/2436/625819

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en

Description

A Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Counselling Psychology, University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

cbn

Collections

Theses and Dissertations