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How do social factors affect health essay
Explain the influence of culture on health
Two definitions of health
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Health according to the Constitution adopted by the International Health Conference held in New York in 1946 which led to the foundation of the World Health Organization (WHO) was defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization 2006, pp. 1-18) and it was observed a fundamental right of every human being to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health irrespective of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition (WHO, 2006). However Yurkovich and Lattergrass (2008) urged the impossibility of the existence of a universal definition of health as cultural context within which an individual is raised inevitably affects the person’s perceptions of health and wellness and as Spector (2003) advocated without careful observation of community and culture healthcare providers and the recipients would be like two separate groups trying to communicate in different languages. In these contexts, social messages, language, customs, and rituals serve as a form of social communication, which constitute an integral part of culture and as a result, affect treatment outcomes (Green, 2010; Naidoo and Wills eds., 2008). Conrad (1999) and Lawton (2003) (cited in Swami et al. 2009) pointed lay people perceived health and illness as something integrated into daily life, fuelling a shift from utterly bio-medical frameworks towards more holistic understandings of health and ill-health, but illness and healing according to Green (2010) and Cartwright (2010) are elaborated and socially constructed concepts and individuals acquire characteristics like capacity to represent the external world, think and communicate, explain their place in the... ... middle of paper ... ...SERVATORIES (APHO) (2009) Health Profile 2009: Birmingham [online]. [Accessed 10 January 2011] Available at: THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH OBSERVATORIES (APHO) (2010) Health Profile 2010: Birmingham [online]. [Accessed 10 January 2011] Available at: West Midlands Public Health Observatory (WMHO): http://www.wmpho.org.uk/default.aspx WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2006) Constitution of the World Health Organization [online]. Geneva: World Health Organization. pp. 1-18 [Accessed on 10 January 2011]. Available at: < http://www.who.int> YURKOVICH, E.E. and LATTERGRASS, I. (2008) Defining Health and Unhealthiness: Perceptions held by Native American-Indians with Persistent Mental Illness Mental Health, Religion and Culture [online]. 11(5), pp. 437-459 [Accessed 10 January 2011] Available at:
Jean Giddens (2013) defines culture as “a pattern of shared attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can occur among those who speak a particular language, or live in a defined geographical region.” (Giddens, 2013). A person’s culture influences every aspect that person’s life. Beliefs affected by culture include how someone interacts within the family, how to raise children, the types of foods eaten, the style of clothes chosen, which religion is practiced, and the style of communication (including verbal, and body language, slang used etc.) (Giddens, 2013). In addition to these beliefs, health care practices are also affected by culture. The cause
World Health Organization. (2003). The world health report 2003 shaping the future. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=102453
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
Spector, R. E. (2009). Health and illness in the American Indian and Alaska native population. Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness (7th ed.). (pp. 204-228). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
A long family tree of mistreatment and undue suffering in addition to present lack of resources and poverty has resulted in considerable distress among tribal members and families living within the majority of reservations today. As a result of such distress and despair, many Native American families living in reservations have been torn apart as alcohol, drugs and family violence have become rampant within their communities. Furthermore, the inaccessibility of most reservations combined with lack of resources proves challenging to provide proper housing for families. In addition, the American Indians make up a minority of the least educated, sickest and poorest people within our country. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Native American youths in the 15-24 age group and 2.5 times the national rate.
Through showing the different definitions of health, the authors explain how those different understandings affect patterns of behavior on health depend on different cultures. In addition, an analysis of the models of health demonstrates even western medical approaches to health have different cognitions, same as the Indigenous health beliefs. The most remarkable aspect is a balance, a corresponding core element in most cultures which is an important consideration in Indigenous health as well. From an Indigenous perspective, health is considered as being linked, and keeping the connection is a priority to preserve their health. Consequently, health is a very much culturally determined. Health practitioners should anticipate and respect the cultural differences when they encounter a patient from various cultures. In particular, this article is good to understand why the Indigenous health beliefs are not that different than western medicine views using appropriate examples and comparative composition, even though the implementation the authors indicated is a bit abstract, not
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
WHO. (2006) Constitution of the world health organization [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf [Accessed: 15 Dec 2013].
Stretch, B; Whitehouse, M. (2010) Btec Level 3 Health & Social Care Book 2: Harlow, Essex, GBR:Pearson Education Ltd.
The notion of health is contextual and an interactive, dynamic process between person and environment (Schim et al, 2007). Both wellness and illness are conceptualized by the ‘person’, existing on a continuum across the lifespan (Arnold & Boggs, 2001).
Medical anthropology addresses the symbolic, narrative, and ethical dimension of healing, medicine and medical technology in many different ways. One way they address these dimensions is by exploring how local and international communities view wellness, illness, disease and healing through different perspectives. Their goal is to examine how communities are able to function individually as well as look for themes within the structure and systems of different communities between various cultures. Anthropologists spend a lot of time exploring and discussing the theme of treatment within various communities. The traditional model to exploring this treatment is to look towards the biomedical system, which “employ different explanatory models and idioms to make sense of disease and give meaning to the individual and social experience of illness” (Kleinman 1973: 86), and often leaves out the social, economical and cultural factors that influence the concept of treatment.
Each day, nurses or other healthcare providers, encounter a wide range of patients that may look, talk, think, or act differently than themselves. This variance is shown by the many diverse backgrounds and cultures that make up the human race. Although the definition of culture cannot be condensed to a single definition, culture can be understood as a complex makeup of each person’s social, personal, and environmental experiences that effect their outlook and produces certain actions (Edberg, 2012). Therefore, this will produce a wide range of patients that will each have a unique view of health and wellness. Not only is it important for healthcare providers to understand diverse cultures and practices so that they may adequately care for patients
To further introduce Medical Anthropology, I will reiterate highlights of my previous presentations. Early on in Turkey, I asked each person in our program the following question: "I would like you to tell me about health and what it means to you?" The answers to this question varied widely, making it difficult to define a global conception of health. In analyzing the answers, I established the following five components of health:
either neurological or contextual, so treatment differs. It is essential to convince the importance of mental health well-being in communities as for them it’s a strange concept. For indigenous people, family and social relationship are important and not as of western style of relationship. The western model does not work with indigenous people for promoting mental health wellbeing as they give importance to the individual but indigenous people consider community and family as well. The mental health promotional program should be contextual as each community have unique customs and culture, and the way of living and maintain relationship differ, the methodology introduce to promote