medical anthropology

Description of Interview:

My interviewee is my friend that I met in U.S., and now she went back to Hong Kong. I interviewed her through Facetime in Monday midnight. The interview was 50 minutes long. I documented it as handwritten notes.

Interview notes:

Q: Age, place of birth

A: 27years old and Hong Kong

Q: Family composition

A: My mother and I

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Hong Kong

Q: When you were growing up, who took care of you when you were sick? Were you treated at home? Taken to a medical clinic? Did you consult other kinds of healers?

A: My mom took care me when I am sick, I am treated at home, and I am consulted therapy and psychiatry

Q: Who are you living with now?

A: My mother

Q: Who do you usually consult when you or a member of your family are sick?

A: Family doctor

Q: What are the qualities you look for in a doctor or other health care provider?

A: Patient, and chat with me

Q: Can you tell me from the beginning to end about one serious illness you experienced?

A: When I went back to Hong Kong after I graduated university, I often fight with my mom, and I felt hard to control my feeling and emotion. I am not used to live with my mom because I study aboard in U.S. 7 years. However, I had a family history-my grandma got schizophrenia, mania, paranoia. After I went to the psychiatry, then I diagnosed medium states depression. I got medicine from psychiatry. Treatment for two months. After I took the medicine, I feel more depressed, so I went to the therapy.

Q: What are the symptoms that bothered you most?

A: Feel lost and can't control my emotions and I was trying to hurt herself.

Q: What do you think the illness does to you? How has it changed you?

A: After I got medicine, I felt sluggish and always need to sleep, every day slept 18 hrs+, and the antidepressants gained my weight 15-20 pounds.

Q: Were you frightened by the illness?

A: No. I don’t feel that serious, and I know I has a family history of mental illness.

Q: What did you fear most?

A: I am afraid to bring negative emotions to my family and friends.

Q: Why do you think you became ill? What do you think caused the problem?

A: I believe I got the gene of mental illness.

Q: Why do you think it started when it did?

A: Because the psychiatrist told me that mental illness onset in the age 10-30.

Q: Has your illness caused any problems within your family? At work? In other areas of your life?

A: At school, is hard to focus due to the medicine(antidepressants)which regulate dopamine in the brain.

Q: What did you do about your sickness? Who did you consult first? Who else did you consult?

What kind of treatment did you receive?

A: Chat with a therapist and medicine treatment.

Q: Were you satisfied with that treatment?

A: Yes, it helps me to calm down. The medicine made me don’t feel any emotion. Then I can relieve myself.

Q: What kind of attention or treatment do you think you should have received?

A: I don’t think I need any attention.

Q: Did you follow the treatment recommendations that were prescribed? Why or why not?

A: Yes, I stopped the medicines until the doctor said I can.

Q: What are the most important results you hope to receive from medical treatment?

A: I really hope I can get rid of the illness and get back to normal life.

Q: How did the illness experience change your life or the way you think about life?

A: I became more introverted than before.

Q: What does being healthy mean to you?

A: I think is lose weight and got a healthy body.

Q: What do you do to stay healthy?

A: Everyday workout for 1 hours.

Q: What things are most harmful to people’s health?

A: I believe is mental illness.

Q: What does being sick mean to you?

A: It means that life is fragile.

Q: Do you think there is any larger purpose/meaning to sickness? Which diseases are you particularly afraid of? Why?

A: I believe the meaning of sickness is to understand ourselve and how to fit with the society. I afraid of cancer diseases because it can bring a lot of stress to family members such as money and time.

Q: How would you define a good life?

A: Happiness.

Preliminary analysis part A:

Social relationships

From the experience with the interviewee, there is a close link between a disease and illness in the way they are understood by the society as illustrated through the interviewee. Based on the feedback, a disease results into adverse effects on social relationships. When the interviewee was asked on the disease, she indicated to be much afraid of cancer disease. The reason she gave was that the disease can cost the family much money and time. However, this comes up as an issue that is based on a shorter period of time compared to an illness. The interviewee has a mental illness which has affected her for a longer time. Although the illness has affected some of her social relationships such as the fight with the mother, there has been interventions to reduce the adverse impacts on the family. It is viewed as a condition that can be controlled and thus the negative outcomes on the social relationships can be controlled. The victim is more comfortable to live with the illness as the symptoms can be controlled but is afraid of a disease as it might have greater and long-lasting effects on the people, she values most such as intermediate family members.

Effect on normalcy

The interviewee understands illness as a factor that affects normalcy. Normalcy as used in the interview’s context refers to the normal functioning and behaviors or conduct of a person in their day-to-day life. This is evident through the contrast drawn by the interviewee is asked about her experience with the condition and when it started. At one point, she explains how much she has been supported by the mother and describes the mother as the closest family member whom the live with. However, after graduating, she started developing the condition which was characterized by her fighting the mother and finding it hard to control her feelings and emotions. According to the interviewee, this is a shift from the normal functioning of her mental ability or operations. Also, she claims that medications help her get calm as she used to before developing the condition. This proves the interviewee interprets illness to affect normalcy.

Effect on self-identity

According to the feedback given by the interviewee, illness has a negative impact on self-identity. When she is asked what symptoms bother her most, she describes how she is frustrated of not being able to control her emotions and the fact that she is trying to hurt herself. Also, there is an aspect of disappointment and frustration for having the condition. This is evident when she is asked what she fears most. She responds that she is afraid of bringing negative emotions to her friends or family. This shows she has problems believing or trust herself. Her self-identity in this case is greatly affected in that she no longer has full confidence of what is happening to her life. There is also an aspect of blame where she believes the condition was inherited. This shows she views herself as an outcome of some past generations and inherits negative traits from her fore parents such as the grandmother who had mental illness conditions.

Preliminary analysis part B:

Structure of health system

There are various facilities and systems that are used in the management of mental illness in healthcare system. As used in the context, there are different structures that are used in healthcare systems to manage mental illness. Among the components of the structure include healthcare facility or hospital. This is reflected in the interview where the client would attend to receive her medication. Presence of a hospital or a facility where the client can attend and have her condition assessed helps in managing the condition. Also, it creates a platform where the client can attend and have her condition treated without experiencing stigma from the public. Another component of the structure of healthcare that influence the interviewee’s illness is healthcare provider. In this case, the specific component is the psychiatrist or therapist whose role is assisting the client overcome the symptoms of the illness. The third component is medication or prescription framework which ensures the clients receive medications to control the symptoms.

Social inequality

There are various ways in which social inequalities can influence mental illness and individuals with such conditions such as the interviewee. One of the ways in which this occurs is through bullying and violence. People with mental illness may be subjected to bullying particularly in school. The interviewee already reported to have experienced hard time in school and engaged in fights. This is influenced by inequalities where some students bully individuals the person which might in turn trigger violence. Another social inequality factor is discrimination where the affected person or the ill person is discriminated against. When this occurs, the ill person may be provoked and can result into severity of the condition. This may also create fear on the ill person as they fear being discriminated against or act in a way that leads to being discriminated against (Yu, 2018). In the interview, this is evident where the interviewee claims to be afraid of hurting the emotions of close family or friends.

Healthcare policy

Healthcare policy influence mental illness in that they determine the role of government and those in authority in addressing the needs of those with mental health conditions such as the interviewee. Health care, housing, and even criminalization all has an impact on people with mental illness. For people with mental health conditions, new policies can lead to better outcomes as well as better treatments. Stigma about mental health issues and mental illness must be considered when developing mental health policies. Ministers and the public aren't paying attention, which leads to a lack of resources and morale, deteriorating institutions and inadequate information systems. Stigma harms not only those with mental illness but also the health of society as a whole because it causes social exclusion for those who suffer from it. Too frequently, our services serve as launching pads for social exclusion rather than stepping stones toward inclusion (McDaid et al, 2019).

Reference

McDaid, D., Park, A. L., & Wahlbeck, K. (2019). The economic case for the prevention of mental illness. Annual review of public health, 40, 373-389.

Yu, S. (2018). Uncovering the hidden impacts of inequality on mental health: a global study. Translational psychiatry, 8(1), 1-10.