We are delighted to share that Midlands MHN DTP researcher David Wenzel has published a major new article in the journal Sociology of Health & Illness.
The paper, titled “Deus Ex Machina: An Ethnographic Exploration of Technology, Death and Decision‐Making in Respiratory Care”, is the product of extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted within NHS hospital wards. Supported by Wellcome funded MHN DTP, this work brings together medical sociology, ethics, and clinical practice to explore one of the most complex areas of healthcare: end‐of‐life decision‐making.
Drawing on Foucault’s concept of power/knowledge and Orlikowski’s theory of technology‐in‐practice, Wenzel examines how non-invasive advanced respiratory support (NARS) machines shape not just treatment, but the very ways in which dying is recognised, negotiated, and understood. His findings highlight:
- How machines act as nonhuman actors, structuring decisions and commanding clinical attention.
- The ways in which authority circulates unevenly across professional boundaries, sometimes marginalising junior clinicians.
- The moral and emotional challenges faced by staff making decisions about continuing or withdrawing life‐sustaining treatment.
- How patients’ experiences and comfort can be overshadowed by the epistemic weight of machine outputs such as blood gas results
This article offers timely insights into how modern healthcare technologies reshape the boundaries of life, death, and professional authority. By highlighting the lived realities of staff and patients in respiratory care, David’s research makes a vital contribution to debates about technology, ethics, and end‐of‐life care.
We are proud to see this important work published and warmly congratulate David on this achievement.
🗓️ Published: 28 September 2025
🔗 Read the full article here