Medical tourism: an exploration of the academic discourse aligment

Authors

  • Julieta Guzmán Flores Universidad de Guadalajara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55555/IS.28.592

Keywords:

Medical tourism, theoretical platforms, ethics and social responsability,, ethics and social responsability

Abstract

Medical tourism is a field of study explored from the interdisciplinary of social sciences, business and tourism, and public health. Unfortunately, his information is speculative, anecdotal, and full of nuances and contradictions because it comes from the experiences and opinions of medical travellers. Since 1990, tourism studies publications have formed six valid theoretical platforms and in continuous change: Incidence, Precaution, Adaptation, Scientificity, Public Interest and Sustainable Development. The main intention of this document is to provide a starting point for identifying, grouping, and analyzing the information on medical tourism destinations in the media. The analysis takes as its starting point the themes captured in the literature focused on branding, destination positioning, ethics, and standardization of tourism business services and Jafari's theoretical platforms to contextualize the development of the field. Particularly, it tries to show how the discussion of international medical tourism has been built. If the academic literature on the medical tourism market contains different characteristics that incorporate issues of social responsibility, consumer culture, and contemporary commodification and are linked to sustainable development.

Author Biography

Julieta Guzmán Flores, Universidad de Guadalajara

Doctora en Desarrollo Económico y Sectorial Estratégico por laUniversidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla

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Published

2024-08-13

How to Cite

Guzmán Flores, Julieta. 2024. “Medical Tourism: An Exploration of the Academic Discourse Aligment”. Intersticios Sociales, no. 28 (August):97-112. https://doi.org/10.55555/IS.28.592.

Issue

No. 28 (2024)

Section

Social Spaces under Debate

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