Miguel del Fresno García

Social work and netnography: The case of Spain and generic drugs

In this study, we examine a key issue for the sustainability of our welfare state: the patterns of consumption of generic drugs, the Internet, and healthcare social work. Taking the online context (netnography) as an object of ethnographic analysis, we analyze climates of opinion in relation to the consumption of generic drugs. We identify and analyze the linguistic framing and social discrediting of generic drugs via misinformation and the creation of risk perception to curb the social acceptability and consumption of these medicines in Spain. Based on the results obtained, we provide strategies that can be used by healthcare social workers.