The constitution of space in intensive care : Power, knowledge and the othering of people experiencing mental illness

Journal article


Corfee, Flora, Cox, Leonie and Windsor, Carol. (2020). The constitution of space in intensive care : Power, knowledge and the othering of people experiencing mental illness. Nursing Inquiry. 27(2), p. e12328. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12328
AuthorsCorfee, Flora, Cox, Leonie and Windsor, Carol
Abstract

A sociological conceptualisation of space moves beyond the material to the relational, to consider space as a social process. This paper draws on research that explored the reproduction of legitimated knowledge and power structures in intensive care units during encounters, between patients, who were experiencing mental illness, and their nurses. Semi-structured telephone interviews with 17 intensive care nurses from eight Australian intensive care units were conducted in 2017. Data were analysed through iterative cycling between participants' responses, the literature and the theoretical framework. The material and relational aspects of space in this context constitute a dynamic process that is concerned with the reproduction of everyday life, the preservation of the biomedical authority of intensive care, and the social othering of people experiencing mental illness. The work of theorists such as Löw, Harvey and Foucault underpins the exploration of space as a multi-dimensional, malleable social process that both produces and is the product of social interaction and the social world. In this paper, we argue that the performative work of knowledge and power production and reproduction, considered here in relation to intensive care spaces, enables ongoing othering and disenfranchisement of people experiencing mental illness.

Keywordsconsumer; intensive care; mental health; othering; power; space
Year2020
JournalNursing Inquiry
Journal citation27 (2), p. e12328
PublisherWiley
ISSN1320-7881
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12328
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85078747331
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range1-10
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online20 Jan 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted24 Sep 2019
Deposited15 Jul 2021
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