abstract: 'The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the incongruity of

  individualization ideologies that position individuals at the centre of

  health care, by contributing, making informed decisions and exercising

  choice regarding their health options and lifestyle considerations. When

  confronted with a global health threat, government across the world,

  have understood that the rhetoric of individualization, personal

  responsibility and personal choice would only led to disastrous national

  health consequences. In other words, individual choice offers a poor

  criterion to guide the health and wellbeing of a population. This

  reality has forced many advanced economies around the world to suspend

  their pledges to `small government'', individual responsibility and

  individual freedom, opting instead for a more rebalanced approach to

  economic and health outcomes with an increasing role for institutions

  and mutualization. For many marginalized communities, individualization

  ideologies and personalization approaches have never worked. On the

  contrary, they have exacerbated social and health inequalities by

  benefiting affluent individuals who possess the educational, cultural

  and economic resources required to exercise `responsibility'', avert

  risks and adopt health protecting behaviours. The individualization of

  the management of risk has also further stigmatized the poor by shifting

  the blame for poor health outcomes from government to individuals. This

  paper will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic exposes the cracks of

  neoliberal rhetoric on personalization and opens new opportunities to

  approach the health of a nation as socially, economically and

  politically determined requiring `upstream'' interventions on key areas

  of health including housing, employment, education and access to health

  care.'
affiliation: 'Cardona, B (Corresponding Author), Univ NSW, Ctr Primary Hlth Care \&
  Equ, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

  Cardona, Beatriz, Univ NSW, Ctr Primary Hlth Care \& Equ, Sydney, NSW, Australia.'
author: Cardona, Beatriz
author-email: b.cardona@unsw.edu.au
author_list:
- family: Cardona
  given: Beatriz
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1093/heapro/daaa112
eissn: 1460-2245
files: []
issn: 0957-4824
journal: HEALTH PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL
keywords: health equity; social determinants of health; Australian social policy
keywords-plus: DETERMINANTS
language: English
month: JUN
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '41'
orcid-numbers: Cardona, Beatriz/0000-0001-8485-0528
pages: 714-721
papis_id: 7e05643b00d8f19fd147281515e49538
ref: Cardona2021pitfallspersonalizat
times-cited: '18'
title: 'The pitfalls of personalization rhetoric in time of health crisis: COVID-19
  pandemic and cracks on neoliberal ideologies'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000693258500012
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '6'
volume: '36'
web-of-science-categories: Health Policy \& Services; Public, Environmental \& Occupational
  Health
year: '2021'