Polarisation in medicine: how can we better engage with people who disagree with us?

Biography

Elspeth Davies is a senior researcher at the University of Oxford in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. She is an anthropologist by background, and her research focuses on how knowledge becomes fact in medicine. For the past five years she has been studying debates about early detection of cancer, conducting fieldwork at conferences and in seminars, patient support groups, and NHS clinics.

Discussing the benefits and harms of medical interventions has never been more important. Healthcare systems are in crisis, facing staffing and resourcing problems. 1 At the same time we’re seeing a wave of new technologies, such as those mobilising developments in artificial intelligence and genetic testing. But in fields as varied as cancer screening, vaccination, en