ANT: Module 11 Discussion
McNeilx2
UTF-8Module-11-Health.pptxModule 11
Health and Healing
1
World Health Organization:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being* and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
*“well-being” may vary over time and across cultures.
Conceptualizing Health in Medical Anthropology
Sickness
All unwanted variations in physical, social,
or psychological dimensions of health
Illness
Human experience and perceptions of altered health, shaped by cultural context
Disease
Clinical manifestations of altered physical function or infection
3
Causes of Sickness: Naturalistic & Personalistic
Naturalistic Explanation:
Organic breakdown
Obstruction
Injury
Imbalance
Malnutrition
Parasite
http://doshaquiz.chopra.com
Includes:
Biomedicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Humoral Pathology
Ayurveda
Causes of Sickness: Naturalistic & Personalistic
Personalistic explanations of illness and examples:
Intrusion of a foreign object (native american supernatural surgery)
Spirit possession (susto)
Bewitching (evil eye)
*Since illness is caused by supernatural forces, a spiritual healer and ceremony is usually involved in treatment (shaman, curandero).
Cultural Syndrome:
illness that only occurs in a specific culture
shared knowledge and values about the illness within the cultural group.
Cultural Syndrome:
Kuru - A disease and an illness found in the Fore tribe of the New Guinea Highlands
Palsy, loss of motor control, fatal within 6-12 months of symptoms
Mainly young women afflicted
Disrupted gender roles
Caused by a prion
Infection transmitted by ritual funerary practices involving cannibalism
(prion: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5047 )
Cultural Syndrome:
*Mental illnesses are present in all societies, but what is normal and abnormal are not the same in all cultures.
Example: Spirit Marriage in Saora tribe of India
Young adult exhibiting abnormal behavior (cry/laugh inappropriately, fainting, twitching, memory loss)
Cause - thought to be from a spirit desiring marriage
Cure - to appease the spirit by marrying it
Result - the individual becomes a shaman because of association with the spirit world.
Cultural Syndrome
Culture bound mental illnesses of paranoia
Windigo psychosis (Native Americans in the Great Lakes Region) – the fear of becoming a cannibalistic monster during the long winter.
Koro (found in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore) - the fear of shrinking sex organs, caused by “unhealthy” sex or tainted food
Cultural Syndrome: Eating Disorders in Western Cultures
Are eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia) cultural syndromes?
Pyschological and biological predisposing factors may be universal
but,
we only see these eating disorders in western societies that value thinness in women.
Image caption: depicts size difference between average american woman being 140 lbs and 5foot 4 inches, compared to fashion model average which is 5foot 11 inches and 110 lbs
Sociocultural Factors Associated with ED since the 1960s
1960 EATING DISORDER RATE PRESENT
Individualism
Consumer
Economy
Gender Role
Upheavals
Fashion values
thinness
Body weight of general population
increases
Sociocultural Factors Associated with ED
The thin ideal-------versus-----obesogenic environment
Sociocultural Components of ED
Beauty Ideals And Social Class
Beauty and body size ideals exist in every culture.
The thin ideal is not universal.
The thin ideal tends to exist in societies where food is plentiful.
Body and beauty ideals often express wealth and prestige.
BMI and Body Size Ideals
MEAN BMI
IDEAL BMI
Developing Nations Developednations
(I.E., “3rd World Country”) (USA, EU)
Medical Anthropology
Studies all parts of illness – epidemiology, causes illness experience, healers, and treatment
distinction among sickness causation – naturalistic versus personalisitc
Cultural syndromes
Improve patient-provider interactions
Explore how culture influences epidemiological trends
See more topics at: http://www.medanthro.net
