Care as tyranny: Miscellaneous observations

Abstract

AbstractThis article focuses on undesired care transgressions that violate the intimacy, autonomy, and humanity of patients, pregnant women, and older people. Undesired care that hurts patients is referred to as “violence,” “abuse,” and “dehumanization.” This can take different forms: physical, verbal, and emotional, as well as deliberate negligence. We have dubbed this type of transgressive care “tyranny.” The data for this article are derived from a wide variety of sources: research articles, personal documents sharing care experiences, ethnographic observations, novels, a celebrated movie, and a TV series. Five conceptual clarifications of the occurrence of tyrannical care are proposed in the concluding discussion.