The effects of culture on illness behavior and medical care (original) (raw)
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Culture, Illness, and Care: Clinical Lessons From Anthropologic and Cross-Cultural Research
FOCUS, 2006
Major health care problems such as patient dissatisfaction, inequity of access to care, and spiraling costs no longer seem amenable to traditional biomedical solutions. Concepts derived from anthropologic and cross-cultural research may provide an alternative framework for identifying issues that require resolution. A limited set of such concepts is described and illustrated, including a fundamental distinction between disease and illness, and the notion of the cultural construction of clinical reality. These social science concepts can be developed into clinical strategies with direct application in practice and teaching. One such strategy is outlined as an example of a clinical social science capable of translating concepts from cultural anthropology into clinical language for practical application. The implementation of this approach in medical teaching and practice requires more support, both curricular and financial.
The Socio-Cultural Factors on Health and Illness -A Study
IJRASET, 2021
Our culture, not our biology, dictates which illnesses are stigmatized and which are not, which are considered disabilities and which are not, and which are deemed contestable meaning some medical professionals may find the existence of this ailment questionable as opposed to definitive illnesses that are unquestionably recognized in the medical profession in the medical field. The stigmatization of illness often has the greatest effect on the patient and the kind of care they receive. Many contend that our society and even our healthcare institutions discriminate against certain diseases like mental disorders, AIDS, venereal diseases, and skin disorders. All cultures have systems of health beliefs to explain what causes illness, how it can be cured or treated, and who should be involved in the process. The extent to which patients perceive patient education as having cultural relevance for them can have a profound effect on their reception to information provided and their willingness to use it. In Vietnamese culture, mystical beliefs explain physical and mental illness. Health is viewed as the result of a harmonious balance between the poles of hot and cold that govern bodily functions.
The relationship between doctor and patient an intercultural comparison (*1
The relationship between Doctor and patient an intercultural comparison
Drs. Carel Jacobs, Associate partner Hofstede-Insight Group, expert on healthcare. and Drs. Huib Wursten, Associate partner Hofstede-Insight group It is generally assumed that good communication between doctor and patient is essential for the treatment of diseases. A good doctor-patient relationship turns out to be a good predictor of the patient's satisfaction with the care provided, However, when doctor and patient have a different cultural background, the doctor-patient relationship is sometimes influencing the communication and as a result affecting the necessary trust from the side of the patient Mutual expectations The doctor-patient relationship is complex because it can influence the health outcomes of the patient. Unique in this relationship is:-the doctor-patient relationship is not established on a purely voluntary basis-the doctor is expected to show both substantive and emotional expertise during the medical consultation Cultural differences affect patients' attitudes about medical care and their ability to understand what is happening: the meaning of a diagnosis, the consequences of medical treatment and how to cope with the course of an illness,. Patients and their families bring culture specific ideas and values related to concepts of health and illness, reporting of symptoms, expectations for how health care will be delivered, and beliefs concerning medication and treatments. In addition, culture specific values influence patient roles and expectations, how much information about illness and treatment is desired, how death and dying will be managed, bereavement patterns, gender and family roles, and processes for decision making. In short: doctors and their patients are driven by the culture they are coming from. As a result the interaction between Doctors, Patients and paramedical professionals is highly sensitive to culture. The interaction is influenced by the dimensions found by Geert Hofstede. We will discuss this in a following chapter About culture: the research of Geert Hofstede We will first delve a little bit deeper in the notion of "culture". As a starting point we take the results of the scientific research by professor Geert Hofstede. Hofstede is widely recognized
The Cultural Formulation: A Method for Assessing Cultural Factors Affecting the Clinical Encounter
Psychiatric Quarterly, 2002
The growing cultural pluralism of US society requires clinicians to examine the impact of cultural factors on psychiatric illness, including on symptom presentation and help-seeking behavior. In order to render an accurate diagnosis across cultural boundaries and formulate treatment plans acceptable to the patient, clinicians need a systematic method for eliciting and evaluating cultural information in the clinical encounter. This
Choice Reviews Online, 2003
C ultural diversity is increasing worldwide as immigration, travel, and the global economy make national borders more permeable. Latinos of all nationalities will make up the largest U.S. minority group with 12.5 percent of the population, followed by blacks (12.3 percent) and Asians (3.6 percent). 1 Ten percent of the U.S. population is foreign-born. By 2050, minorities will make up approximately 47 percent of the U.S. population. 2 Cultural understanding between physicians and patients will improve adherence, patient care, and clinical outcomes. Table 1 lists Web sites for additional information regarding cross-cultural medicine. Cultural Competency Culture is defined as the beliefs and attitudes that are learned and shared by members of a group. 3 Cultural competency refers to possessing knowledge, awareness, and respect for other cultures. Physicians must respectfully elicit needed information from patients from various cultures to make accurate diagnoses and negotiate acceptable treatment goals. 4 Ethnocentrism, the conviction that one's own culture is superior, can hinder effective cross-cultural care. Cultural competency is an essential skill for family physicians because of increasing ethnic diversity among patient populations. Culture, the shared beliefs and attitudes of a group, shapes ideas of what constitutes illness and acceptable treatment. A cross-cultural interview should elicit the patient's perception of the illness and any alternative therapies he or she is undergoing as well as facilitate a mutually acceptable treatment plan. Patients should understand instructions from their physicians and be able to repeat them in their own words. To protect the patient's confidentiality, it is best to avoid using the patient's family and friends as interpreters. Potential cultural conflicts between a physician and patient include differing attitudes towards time, personal space, eye contact, body language, and even what is important in life. Latino, Asian, and black healing traditions are rich and culturally meaningful but can affect management of chronic medical and psychiatric conditions. Efforts directed toward instituting more culturally relevant health care enrich the physician-patient relationship and improve patient rapport, adherence, and outcomes.
The impact of culture on the cognitive structure of illness
Culture Medicine and Psychiatry, 1987
This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding the impact of culture on the processes of symptom recognition, labeling, and help-seeking and consequently on large-scale epidemiological studies involving different ethnic groups. We begin with the assumption that the subjective experience of illness is culture-bound and that the cognitive and linguistic categories of illness characteristic of any culture constrain the interpretative and behavioral options available to individuals in response to symptoms. We hypothesize the existence of learned cognitive structures, through which bodily experiences are filtered, that influence the interpretation of deviations from culturally-defined physical and mental health norms. Certain contradictory findings concerning the selfreported health of Mexican Americans are discussed in order to illustrate the impact of culture on perceived health status.
Chapter 5: Culturally Based Health and Illness Beliefs and Practices Across the Life Span
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 2010
I. INTRODUCTION A. The purpose of this chapter is to anchor health care within the context of the ethical responsibilities of health care providers to deliver quality care to people from diverse personal, cultural, social, and global contextual backgrounds. 1. These ethical responsibilities must go beyond the assimilation of cross-cultural and linguistic knowledge, competence, and sensitivity. 2. An appreciation of and willingness to learn individual, family, cultural, and social group perspectives regarding health and illness is required. 3. Providers must be willing to engage patients and their families in assessment, dialogue, and negotiations regarding patients' and providers' explanatory models (Ems; Helman, 2000; Kleinman, Eisenberg, & Good, 1978, 2006) and health and illness representations (Farmer & Good, 1991). B. Health beliefs are formed and health practices are enacted within the context of everyday life. 1. Beginning at the time of birth, people learn and assimilate their perspectives regarding health and illness within their cultural and social worlds. 2. This learning becomes internalized and is gradually modified throughout their lives as a result of their experiences, formal and informal education, and their interpersonal relationships. 3. Bronfenbrenner (1995) describes this as a gradually evolving developmental process based on a culturally defined age, role expectations, opportunities, and the timing of the person's life course. Within this context, individuals engage in a mutual accommodation between their internal beliefs and an ever changing external environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1995; Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994).
Self-Orientalization in the East Asian Medical Community
2021
Traditional medical practices have yielded to modern Western Allopathic Medicine in much of the world. However, Traditional East Asian Medicine (aka Traditional Chinese Medicine) which includes Acupuncture, Asian Herbalism, Asian Bodywork, and Meditative Breathing Practices (Taijiquan / Qigong) has grown in popularity around the world. In the United States, Traditional East Asian Medicine has entered mainstream culture, becoming licensed as a type of healthcare service. The development of this type of medicine in the United States began in the late nineteenth century with Asian immigration, but in the latter part of the twentieth century grew from a localized ethnic enclave based cultural practice into a larger social phenomenon reactive to socio cultural dynamics in the medical industrial complex. However, intrinsic in this rise and integration with majority culture has been the inculcation of Orientalized attitudinal poles that rely on stereotypical, trivialized, and racist interp...