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The social meaning and function of food rituals in healthcare practice: An ethnography

Department of Physiotherapy at King's College, University of London, diane.thomson{at}kcl.ac.uk

Anne-Marie Hassenkamp

School of Physiotherapy at St George's, University of London, ahassenk{at}hscs.sgul.ac.uk

This ethnographic study was undertaken to build a picture of physiotherapy practice through prolonged observation. Several building blocks of the therapists' culture were created one of which was the negotiation and meaning of food rituals in the practice of a team of physiotherapists in a UK National Health Service hospital. Interviews were carried out following the observations to gain the therapists' perspectives in an open critical exploration of assumptions and ideas. The analysis was iterative and followed a systematic recognized ethnographic approach. The findings revealed explicit and implicit meanings of the food rituals. Explicitly they were instrumental in sustaining continuity and a strong sense of harmony. They were seen as a morale-booster, a key ingredient to mark departures and a powerful component of the therapists' break time. They underpinned a need for cohesion within an environment of constant change. Implicitly, they were a vehicle to expose tensions and a catalyst for isolation. Food rituals, for this team, reduced the anxiety and stress, which unpredictability, a hallmark of clinical practice can engender. By hiding their concerns in rituals, the team members were able to avoid a real confrontation with issues of authority and hierarchy that underscored these activities. They also maintained the continuity of a professional tradition and contributed to a strong sense of professional autonomy which can smooth the pathway to inter-professional collaboration.

Key Words: continuity • ethnography food rituals • exclusion • healthcare practice • hierarchy • inclusion

Human Relations, Vol. 61, No. 12, 1775-1802 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0018726708098085


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