Cultural Anthropology: Ch. 5 - Cross-Cultural Healing Systems (Ethnomedicine)
Ethnomedicine is defined in our current chapter, "The Study of Cross-Cultural Health Systems" as global health systems of prevention, diagnosis, perception and classification of health problems, along with healing processes and healers.
An emic is an insider's perception for why they do what they do. Medical Anthropoligists study both the disease and illness of the health problem. The disease aspect is the biological health problem which is both objective and universal. The illness or symptoms are classified as the culturally specific perceptions and experiences of a health problem. Miller calls this the disease and illness dichotomy.
Important points brought up in the beginning of the chapter:
1) Medical anthropologists study how cultures label, categorize and classify their health problems. This is based on the ideologies and norms found within a particular culture. A vector is the transmitter of a disease.
2) The idea of culture specific syndromes is introduced. This is health problems with a set of symptoms associated with a particular culture, and they include social factors such as stress, fear or shock.
As I read about the examples shared in the text, I thought about a huge problem that is culture specific here in the United States: Obesity is seen as a modern American plague to the rest of the foriegn world. Cultures that are not yet caught up to speed with us in industrialization don't see the hardships it causes. Obesity is not just a "fat epidemic," it is more than the physical self. The United States of America, is under deep economic stress caused by the demand of the industry culture and the so called "Large Value Meal" trend of the last few decades.
There are people that are a little bizzare and look at take out food as a creative way to eat at home. Look at this Mcdonald's Happy Meal, Cheeseburger, McNuggets and Fries Pizza before and after it's cooked!! (Gross!)
It all began with Americans eating healthier prior to the Industrial Age when factories took over. The farmers would grow their own crops and nothing was produced with chemicals, pre-packaged or frozen. Now with McDonaldization and the evergrowing demand for fastfood resturants on every corner, obesity is worse then ever. School cafeteria's are serving foods that are high in calories to fill the desire for burgers, hot dogs and pizza rather than having salad and turkey sandwiches (healthy options). Another side to this is that is it not just the fast food restaurant industry's fault; parents are filling their children's lunchboxes with bad choices also.
Another epidemic that is going on in America, is the Weightloss Craze. Every tenth commercial or so is about weightloss pills. This is the opposite to the obesity problem because every commercial is so sexualized with slender, beautiful actresses. The tenth commercial comes on and at that point you have seen so many thin girls you're almost ready to buy the pills; its like they timed it just right. But, the pills can cause illnesses like cancer which the advertisers never say. Here are some examples of all they brands of pills out there:
Miller discussed ethno-etiology, the cross-culturally specific causal explanation for health problems and suffering: structural suffering, which is social suffering caused by poverty, war, famine and forced migration, and humoral healing, which is the philosophy of balance among elements within the body and within a person's environment.
Next the chapter introduced the three theoretical approaches to understanding health systems:
1. Ecological/Epidemiological - This approach studies the importance of the environment. Research methods used are mostly quantitative and etic (an outsider's analytic way of studying a culture). This approach studies factors such as urbanization, historical trauma, availability of healthcare, etc.
2. The Interpretivist Approach - This approach highlights symbols and meaning. Healing systems provide meaning to people and this offers psychological support. Western medicine calls this the "placebo effect" or "meaning effect."
3. Critical Medical Anthropolgy - This approach analyzes how structural factors such as global media, political economy and social inequality affect the prevailing health system.
Finally, the chapter discussed globalization and change. The example is given of the spread of HIV/AIDS through international travel and migration. Deforestation and development projects have also caused epidemics through human modification of an ecosystem.
Applied Medical Anthropology is the application of knowledge learned in anthropology to further the goals of health-care providers. This is one of the great benefits provided by anthropologists.
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