Jill Fisher, PhD, will write a scholarly book on the medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of food allergies. The book will explore how American families navigate food allergies as a part of everyday life as well as a condition that increasingly justifies risky and/or burdensome therapeutic interventions.
Professor in the Department of Social Medicine Jill A. Fisher, PhD, received a three-year grant from the National Library of Medicine (NIH) to support writing a scholarly book on the medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of food allergies. Fisher also is core faculty in the UNC Center for Bioethics.
Tentatively titled “Challenging Allergies: The Search for a Magic Bullet for Pediatric Food Allergies,” the book will explore how American families navigate food allergies as a part of everyday life as well as a condition that increasingly justifies risky and/or burdensome therapeutic interventions.
Fisher draws on qualitative research that she conducted of food allergy clinical trials, including interviews with food allergy stakeholders from families with children who have food allergies to academic researchers, practicing allergists, pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy organizations, and FDA representatives.