Standpoint Theory In Health Care

Standpoint theory maintains that all claims to knowledge are situated in the experience and understandings of a person, and reflect the distinct set of relations in which they stand to it. In this sense, knowledge is shaped by a person’s cultural perspective and “social location” (Wylie, 2003, p.31). Situated knowledge not only shapes but also limits is one knows, while one’s social location is structurally defined in a hierarchical system of power relations (Wylie, 2003, p.31). Due to all claims of knowledge being situated, it is perhaps better than to say that that there is no single standpoint epistemology, but instead an infinite number of standpoint epistemologies. According to Wylie, it is exactly this that is why standpoint theory matters
In health care, relationships are often discussed in the context of roles. Dominant and oppressed roles can be observed not only in the relationship between the physician and patient but also between the patient and the larger structure of the health care hierarchy. Health care, like society, reflects a patriarchal, as well as paternalistic, system. In this system patients are generally dominated by physicians, permitted to exercise autonomy only at the physician’s discretion. Because of this, standpoint theory is essential to reducing and correcting issues of nearsightedness on the part of the
Unfortunately, in the health care setting care is “…often equated with treatment, and treatment is not necessarily always caring” (Mahowald, 1996, p.107). Through this lens, care involves an ongoing recognition of both individuals and groups, and the complexity of their relations, while demanding attention to differences. Extending feminist standpoint theory into bioethics supports an interpretation of caring that respects and supports the uniqueness of others, whether as groups or individuals (Mahowald, 1996, p.107). The application of this concept to health care is clear: physicians and other health care practitioners must recognize, respect, and respond to the varying needs of patients; and the discovery and care of such needs are impossible without adopting the patient’s standpoint as both epistemically and ethically privileged. Decisions in the health care setting, and those involving social and health care policies, need to be developed democratically, inclusive of the standpoints of diverse