CULTURE AND HEALTH

ANITA NUDELMAN
MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST
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HEALTH
A STATE OF COMPLETE PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING AND NOT MERELY THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE AND INFIRMITY

WHO CONSTITUTION, 1948

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CULTURE
A SYSTEM OF VALUES, NORMS, BELIEFS, ARTS AND MATERIAL OBJECTS WHICH COMPRISES A GROUPS WAY OF LIFE AND GUIDES ITS BEHAVIOR. CULTURE INCLUDES WHAT PEOPLE THINK, THEY WAY THEY ACT AND THE THINGS THEY OWN.

CULTURE
A SET OF GUIDELINES THAT INDIVIDUALS INHERIT AS MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR SOCIETY, AND WHICH SHOW THEM HOW TO VIEW THE WORLD, HOW TO EXPERIENCE IT EMOTIONALLY AND HOW TO BEHAVE IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE, TO GODS OR SUPERNATURAL FORCES AND TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
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CULTURE ALSO PROVIDES SOCIETIES WITH WAYS OF TRANSMITTING THESE GUIDELINES TO THE NEXT GENERATIONS BY THE USE OF SYMBOLS, LANGUAGE, ART AND RITUALS.

Helman, C. (2000)

Culture, Health and Illness

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CULTURE INFLUENCES DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HUMAN LIFE:

ART, LANGUAGE, RELIGION,

FAMILY STRUCTURE, FOOD, CLOTHES, BEHAVIOR

ATTITUDES TOWARDS
ILLNESS, PAIN AND MISFORTUNE
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CULTURES DIVIDE THEIR MEMBERS INTO SOCIAL CATEGORIES WHICH ARE EXPECTED TO CONFORM TO DIFFERENT NORMS AND BEHAVIOR: MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, TEACHERS AND PUPILS, HEALTHY PEOPLE AND SICK ONES.

PROFESSIONS CAN CONSTITUTE SUBCULTURES WITH SHARED NORMS, LANGUAGE, BEHAVIOR AND CLOTHES NOWADAYS MOST SOCIETIES ARE MULTICULTURAL: DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS, MIGRANT WORKERS, REFUGEES, IMMIGRANTS
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ALTHOUGH CULTURE IMPORTANT, WE MUST BE AWARE OF GENERALIZATIONS. INDIVIDUAL, EDUCATIONAL, SOCIOECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MAY ALSO INFLUENCE PEOPLES BEHAVIOR
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CULTURES ARE DYNAMIC

THE CULTURE OF ANY PARTICULAR GROUP CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD IN ITS PARTICULAR CONTEXT: HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, ECONOMICAL, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS.

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ANTHROPOLOGY
THE HOLISTIC STUDY OF HUMANKIND: ITS ORIGINS, DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND CULTURE

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SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

STUDIES SOCIETIES AND CULTURES TODAY: HOW HUMAN GROUPS ORGANIZE THEMSELVES AND HOW THEY VIEW THE WORLD THEY INHABIT

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MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

DEALS WITH HEALTH AND ILLNESS IN THE CONTEXT OF SPECIFIC SOCIETIES AND CULTURES
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MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY COMBINES BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS AND STUDIES HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO:

CAUSES OF ILLNESS ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS

CONCERNING HEALTH TYPES OF HEALERS TREATMENTS USED
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CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY

CULTURE TEACHES US HOW TO PERCEIVE AND INTERPRET THE CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN THE HUMAN BODY AND TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN: YOUNG AND ELDERLY PEOPLE SICK AND HEALTHY PRIVATE AND PUBLIC BODY PARTS
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CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY INFLUENCE:

BODY IMAGE BELIEFS RELATED IDEAL SIZE

AND SHAPE OF THE BODY BELIEFS RELATED TO BODYS INNER STRUCTURE BELIEFS RELATED TO THE BODYS FUNCTION
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ARTIFICIAL FORMS OF BODY ALTERATION

SKULL DEFORMATION HISTORICAL FRANCE PERU

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ARTIFICIAL CARVING OF TEETH

ECUADOR, MEXICO AND INDONESIA

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SCARIFICATION

AFRICA

NEW GUINEA
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BINDING OF WOMENS FEET

IMPERIAL CHINA

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INSERTION OF LARGE ORNAMENTS IN LIPS AND EARLOBES

BRAZIL, MELANESIA AND EAST AFRICA

OMO, ETHIOPIA

MAASAI, KENYA
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TATTOO
TAHITI

BODY PAINTING
AMERICAN INDIANS
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MALE CIRCUMCISION
MUSLIM AND JEWISH RELIGIONS

PREPARATIONS FOR CIRCUMCISION IN TANZANIA

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FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

GROUP CEREMONY SUDAN

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BODY ALTERATIONS IN WESTERN SOCIETIES PLASTIC SURGERY

HAIR IMPLANTS ORTHODENTICS USE OF FALSE NAILS EXTREME DIETS
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ARTIFICIAL BODY ALTERATIONS

IN ORDER TO CONFORM TO CULTURALLY OR SOCIALLY ACCEPTED NORMS, PEOPLE MAY USE MEANS WHICH CAN AFFECT THEIR HEALTH

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DISEASE AND ILLNESS

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ILLNESS
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF FEELING UNWELL AND THE MEANING IT HAS FOR THE PERSON AND THOSE AROUND HIM ILLNESS IS INFLUENCED BY A PERSONS PERSONALITY AS WELL AS BY SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS
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ILLNESS
THE ORIGINS OF ILLNESS MAY BE CENTERED ON THE INDIVIDUAL OR ON NATURAL, SOCIAL AND SUPERNATURAL CAUSES

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DISEASE
AN OBJECTIVE CONCEPT USED BY SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE. ITS SYMPTOMS ARE UNIVERSAL AND CAN OFTEN BE QUANTIFIED THROUGH MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

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THE SAME DISEASE MAY BE INTERPRETED IN DIFFERENT WAYS BY PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS PERSONAL ILLNESS PERCEPTIONS LEAD TO A VARIETY OF FORMS OF TREATMENTS
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DISEASE AND ILLNESS

THE FEELING OF ILLNESS CAN PERSIST EVEN AFTER THE DISEASE HAS BEEN TREATED AND CURED. HEALTH PROVIDERS AND PATIENTS DIFFERENT CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OFTEN PREVENT THEM FROM HELPING AND BEING HELPED.
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METAPHORS OF AIDS
AIDS AS A PLAGUE: SPREADING AS A DESTRUCTIVE FORCE AND LEADING TO THE BREAKDOWN OF ORDERED SOCIETY AIDS AS AN INVISIBLE CONTAGION THROUGH ANY CONTACT WITH AN INFECTED PERSON AIDS AS A MORAL PUNISHMENT FOR GUILTY PEOPLE
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METAPHORS OF AIDS
AIDS AS A INVADER, RELATED TO XENOPHOBIA AND FOREIGN INVASION AIDS AS A WAR WAGED ON CONVENTIONAL SOCIETY BY IMMORAL INFLUENCES AND STYGMATIZED MINORITIES (GAYS, DRUG USERS)

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METAPHORS AND IMAGES OF AIDS

THEY HAVE BEEN USED IN POPULAR PRESS TO STIGMATIZE AND ALIENATE EVEN FURTHER CERTAIN GROUPS IN SOCIETY: HOMOSEXUALS, DRUG USERS, PROSTITUTES, IMMIGRANTS.

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METAPHORS AND IMAGES OF AIDS

THEY MAY IMPEDE RATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE RISKS OF THE DISEASE. THEY MAY PREVENT PEOPLE FROM COMING FORWARD FOR DIAGNOSIS OR FROM GETTING COMPASSIONATE COUNSELING AND TREATMENT.

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CULTURE INFLUENCES PEOPLES PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIOR IN HEALTH AND IN ILLNESS

IT IS IMPORTANT TO TRY TO SEE THROUGH PATIENTS CULTURAL LENSES.

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THIS WILL ENABLE US:

TO SENSITISE HEALTH AND CARE

PROVIDERS BY ENHANCING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF INDIVIDUALS ILLNESS EXPERIENCES

TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE BETWEEN

DIFFERENT CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, THUS ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY TO DEAL WITH HIV/AIDS
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THIS WILL ENABLE US:

TO DEVELOP CULTURALLYSIGNIFICANT HEALTH EDUCATION FOR HIV PREVENTION IN OUR COMMUNITIES IN GENERAL AND FOR ADOLESCENTS IN PARTICULAR

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THANK YOU!!!
anita_n@netvision.net.il 40