Final answer:
Disease mongering is the process of redefining normal aspects of life as medical conditions that need treatment or intervention. It involves the exaggeration and promotion of these normal experiences as sickness. This practice can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary medical interventions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Disease mongering is the process by which aspects of life that were considered bad or deviant are redefined as sickness and needing medical attention to remedy. It involves the exaggeration and promotion of normal human experiences as medical conditions that require treatment or intervention. Disease mongering can happen through various means, such as advertisements, pharmaceutical marketing, and media influence.
For example, the pharmaceutical industry may create awareness campaigns that aim to convince healthy individuals that they have a medical condition, in order to market and sell their products. By pathologizing normal experiences, disease mongering can lead to overdiagnosis, overprescribing of medications, and unnecessary medical interventions.
References: Price-Smith, A. (2009). Contagion and Chaos: Disease, Ecology, and National Security in the Era of Globalization. Rawcliffe, C. (2013). "Less Mudslinging and More Facts": A New Look at an Old Debate about Public Health in Late Medieval English Towns." Snowden, F.M. (2008). "Emerging and Reemerging Diseases: A Historical Perspective."