A new book on women’s health rhetoric by UW-Superior Professor and Director of Teaching & Learning is published from Routledge. The book is titled “Patients Making Meaning: Theorizing Sources of Information and Forms of Support in Women’s Health.”

Professor Jamie White-Farnham, along with two co-authors, conducted an interview study of women and textual analysis to learn more about messaging around women’s “health flashpoints.”

“Often, women receive many messages simultaneously when there is a health crisis, and that shapes their understanding not only of their health, but of their identity,” said White-Farnham. “We sought to understand the benefits and deficits of that process for women.”

With chapters on messaging around breast cancer, entering menopause, and sobriety, the book is not aimed at patients, but at support people of patients.

“One thing we learned is that some of the messages women encounter during health crises suffer from agnatology — or stale messages that replicate unhelpful things,” said White-Farnham. “For instance, women entering menopause who seek information will encounter a decades-old claim that no one talks about menopause. When of course there are plenty of resources and conversations already occurring. We seek to elevate those conversations.”

White-Farnham’s co-authors are Dr. Bryna Siegel Finer from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Cathryn Molloy from University of Delaware. This is their second book on women’s health rhetoric, and they continue to work toward expanding knowledge about women’s experiences.