Beyond the Illness: Social Suffering and Social Practice of Care

The article presents the idea of the illness as a source of social suffering to the patient and his/her family. Suffering is thought as a consequence of the lack of institutionalized care practices that set the political commitment to guarantee a decent life for the sick and their relatives. Тhе emphasis on the concept creates the need of taking a public responsibility to reduce the social suffering, and at the same time it subjects to moral condemnation the inaction. The social experiences of suffering and the social response to what it causes people are seen as significant forces shaping interpersonal relationships, intragroup dynamics, and the nature of the institutional measures being taken.