Chapter 4: Culture & Health Flashcards
What is culture?
A system of meanings and symbols
- Shapes every area of life
- Gives meaning to experience
- Frames how we perceive reality
Iceberg picture of culture
Just like an iceberg, most of culture is hidden at first glance. Aspects of visible culture include food, art, language, traditions (e.g., holidays). Below the surface though, which requires more time and effort to learn about, are things like beliefs, values, and worldview. These aspects of invisible culture might not even be known by people in a culture – they’re invisible to all of us until we really look (as we’re trying to do in this class). But even though it’s invisible it impacts everything we think, say, and do, as well as how we think about our health and health care.
What is cross-cultural psych?
- culture is a fixed system of beliefs, meanings and symbols
- Compares the attitudes, beliefs and values of different cultures
What is cultural psych?
- Views Culture as developmental and dynamic system of signs
- Studies human conduct and views behaviour as a form of meaning making and re-making
Define belief
- The cultural norms, expectations and values of a society
- Important because they inform attitudes and behaviour
- At the core of what we mean when we talk about culture
What are the health belief systems?
1) Popular Sector - Define illness then take action to deal with it
- Ex. Drinking OJ when feeling sick
2) Professional Sector - organized healing professions
- Ex. Doctors who prescribe antibiotics, etc.
3) Folk Sector - non-organized, non-specialized sector – overlaps both popular and professional sector
- Ex. Personal counselling from minister, etc.
Describe the evolution of Western Health Beliefs
1) Galenic Medicine
- Bodily fluids need to be harmonious for us to be in good health
- Ill health is consequence from failure to keep these fluids in balance
2) Church & Morality
- At first illness was seen as punishment for humankind’s sinfulness. The human body was thought to be given by God and it was a religious duty to look after and care for your own body. Illness was seen as a sign of weakness and neglect. Purity, cleanliness, and freedom from excess were prized. Heaven was attained through healthy behaviour and social morality. This moral basis of health continues to influence contemporary health belief.
3) Biomedicine
- Positivist belief system that is science based
- Separates minds and body – only looking at the individual
4) Biopsychosocial
- Connects health and illness to our surroundings
Describe the Chinese Health belief system
Universe is an entity
Ying and yang – balance governs the universe
- Disharmony = illness
- Ex. Acupuncture, Confucianism (human destiny)
- All things are determined by fate
- All should accept this view
- Horoscopes paired with timing of nature
- Over time = creates our luck in life
Buddhism
- Reciprocity - good deeds and charity
- Retribution – consequences for committing wrongs
Describe Ayurvedic medicine…
- “Life science”
- Extensive system in Indian and Hindu society
- Male component – soul and is constant
- Female component – body and changeable
- Body = flow of substances through channels
- When blocked = ill health
- This type of medicine identifies and clears the blockages to promote movement and therefore health
- Ex. Therapeutic interventions, yoga, meditation, herb ingestion, etc.
Describe the African Health Belief system…
- Africa is a big continent and the countries within it vary greatly so I hesitate to lump them together into one category but unfortunately the text doesn’t give much more detail so just keep that in mind.
Two beliefs:
- Spiritual – ancestors, magical forces… effects community; Therefore, Interventions are targeted at entire family/community
- Communal orientation
- Ill health = result of sorcery
Concepts of balance
- Disturbance = leads to ill health
Describe Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
- encompasses all health systems and practices other than those of the established/dominant health system
- focuses on patient empowerment
- 2 subgroups: Natural products and mind & body practices
- Exist around the world, especially in Asia
- No longer prescribe to biomedical world due to its challenges
- Patient empowerment = you are responsible for your own health
- Growing field
What are important considerations of CAM
- A lot of alternative belief systems around the world have inconsistent evidence as to their efficacy; But so does biomedicine…
- Placebo effect
- Class barriers to CAM
- Can it be appropriately measured? If we cannot measure then it is not beneficial (think biomedical approach)
- Looking at this chapter – pay attention to different health systems and how the influence our thinking of health and well being
Indigenous People….
“peoples and nations which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them.”
- Physical, Mental, and Sexual abuse
- Many die between 15-34 years of age
Indigenous health systems….
- Body in connection to other beings, nature and the spirit world
- As such approaches to health must honour Indigenous stories, and socio-cultural contexts, as well as include community members in interventions for health.
Discrimination in Health
- Everyday experiences of discrimination
- Interpersonal discrimination: Directly treated differently
- Perceived societal discrimination: Feeling/sense of rejection; not belonging to a group
- Systemic discrimination
