From Essential Oils to Everyday Beliefs: Meso-Level Actors and the Diffusion of Health Ideologies

• In Event: Medical Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 1. (De)Medicalization Processes

Abstract

A robust and well-theorized literature has demonstrated how health lifestyles contribute to the reproduction of social inequality and health disparities. However, the role of organizations in the dissemination of health lifestyles remains empirically under-explored. This paper argues that meso-level actors—such as organizations—strategically employ micro-level interactions to promote and spread health lifestyle behaviors. Drawing on 100 hours of participant observation at Natural Remedies, a for-profit essential oils and supplement company, and 38 in-depth interviews with multi-level marketing organization members, this study examines how organizations socialize individuals to adopt particular understandings of health and engage in the diffusion of these behaviors. The findings reveal that organizations are key sites of health lifestyle dissemination, actively mobilizing members to spread ideologically aligned practices and beliefs. Understanding how meso- and micro-level actors contribute to the spread of alternative health beliefs and lifestyles can inform research and policy.

Author

• Nicole Cochran, Temple University