Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the apparent paradox that people - whether they live in Lusaka or Copenhagen - feel more cared for as study subjects in medical research projects than as patients or clients in a public health care system.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores surprising affective commonalities in trial sociality that emerge underneath the obvious political-economic differences between Zambia and Denmark. Zambia: What begins as a possibility for well-connected, but poor and marginalized people in Lusaka to become attached to a rather vague, but obviously resourceful (medical research) project often develops into a feeling of being genuinely cared for. Study subjects’ attachment to the project is not just about access to free medicines, but about being included, encouraged and taken care of. This feeling cared for unfolds in relations with project staff, but also to a certain extent in images of the organization behind the individual research projects. This feeling cared for stands in rather stark contrast to people’s access to care in the public and private health care system in Zambia. Denmark: What begins as a possibility for people in the increasingly downsizing welfare state to learn more about  their own health in a medical research project often turns into a surprisingly pleasurable experience. In spite of painful research procedures this becomes possible because of research staffs’ attention, encouragement, and care that is often extended beyond the projects’ research interests. Study subjects often contrast this attention and care to the limited time allocated for them as patients consulting their general practitioner in Denmark. In both Lusaka and Copenhagen study subjects may try to extend their relation to the research staff/organisation beyond the individual and time-limited research projects. Focusing on these unexpected commonalities in the experience of study subjects from an African slum and a Scandinavian welfare state the paper will close with reflections on the potentials for political action in the paradox that people feel more cared for in medical research projects than in the public health care system, and ponder why this potential has not yet been activated.