Cultural Approaches to Disease - Research Paper Example

Cultural approaches to disease From sociological perspective, culture has received mixed reactions thus attaining several definitions. Therefore, term culture sociologically refers to a shared understanding that notifies and gives behaviours a different shape, and thus achieved through experiences. It is characterised by the endeavours to ensure that values and principles for certain normative and practical behaviours receive meanings. Therefore, learned over time, and distributed among members of a certain group, culture enables communication and behaviour in commonly interpretable ways among members with diverse knowledge and experiences. On the other hand, Procter defines disease as the presence of an illness in the human body, often caused by infection, a definition that dominated in the early twentieth century’s-understanding of human health in which the biomedical perspective adopted was characterised by the narrow view of health as the mere absence of illness in the body. However, this vintage point has been replaced by a more encompassing one in which the role of the three aspects of biomedical, socio-cultural, and psychology in promoting society wellbeing have been brought together to form the modern day bio-psychosocial model. In fact, in 1948, the World Health Organization gave a standard definition of health as not the absence of disease or infirmity, but rather the complete mental, social, and mental state of well being. This definition captured the intricacy and multidisciplinary nature of health as a concept. The inclusion of the social dimension points to fact that the individual is a social being influenced and affected by the society they are in and his/her health being more than merely physiological (Card, et. al. 76). This widened viewpoint has over the years led to a shift from the traditional focus on the individual, as the sole unit of analysis and primary factor in preventing diseases and promotion of health. The modern day psychological approaches views individuals form a subset of a set influenced significantly by other factors of the social, economic, cultural, and physical environments. This paper will argue about the different cultural perspectives of disease, precisely HIV/AIDS, and their influence the global spread of diseases. Both the theoretical and applied approaches to health need to develop a culturally receptive understanding. This understanding is that models developed mostly in the developed world are expanded and improved by observing their efficiency and impact across varied cultural societies. This is bound to improve the validity of scientific inquiry to human psychology, which ultimately enables accurate prediction of cultural influence on diseases and illness. Further, it is important to note that there exist such disparities as differences in the prevalence rates of some diseases among different groups in a society and some diseases coming out as culture specific, both of which point to the need for an understanding of the underlying reasons for such disparities. In most cases, cultures especially the traditional and some religious aspects of it are largely counterproductive in promoting disease prevention and eradication in societies. Other aspects of culture that have great impacts either positive or negative include chaste systems, cultural leadership structures, gender and age disparities, and belief systems held by societies (World Bank 77). Culture and health According to WHO, it is arguable that culture has a definite influence in numerous aspects to ill health. These range from the manner in which patients perceive and express symptoms of diseases, response styles, family and general society response to certain illnesses, and the readiness to consult and seek medical treatment. The story covered by the South African journalist, and a renowned researcher, Jonny Steinberg, popularly known as the Swize’s test illustrates how people’s way of life (culture) influences their reception and response to disease situation regardless of their seemingly enlightened status (Steinberg 2). It brings to the forefront the reality of life under the confines of what communities have embraced overtime as the standard way of doing business. Despite possessing some knowledge, people still hung onto such things as witchcraft, curses and superstitious persuasion that are counter-productive in the fight against pandemics (Jonny 34). Some societies have cultures that have negative influence on the manner in which an individual responds to diseases as well as other society members. On the other hand, the doctors and clinicians and the subsequent service delivery greatly affect the entire process of diagnosis and treatment. For instance, most cultures in sub-Saharan Africa have a great deal in the spread and treatment of HIV/AIDS (Kartikeyan 5). The use of same equipment for many people during rituals like circumcision, scarification, tattooing and even in treating some ailments is a predisposing factor and contributes a significant percentage of new infections in remote societies. Further, the belief in witchcraft leads to exclusion and neglect of people suffering from the disease. The application of traditional medication for has had a positive impact in combating opportunistic diseases on one hand and some harmful side effects including reduced efficiency of the antiretroviral therapy as well as delaying the use of conventional therapy. On the other hand, traditional Asian remedies to the disease delay the use of conventional medication where as their efficiency is not guaranteed (World Bank 75). Looking down up on the factors that lead to contracting the disease in the first place among the Asian cultures, has made the scourge remain low as many people shy away from promiscuity and drug use. These concerns differ from one cultural society to another, although some aspects tend to be more popular across the divide including: Gender inequality Most of the indigenous traditional cultures practice discriminatory imbalance in such aspects as power and decision-making, economic and social spheres between men and women, with women having lesser power and opportunities as compared to men. In the circumstance, women remain largely uneducated, resource deprived and completely ignorant of their social, civil, and legal rights, thereby making them extremely vulnerable and totally dependant on men for economic and livelihood sustenance. For instance, this factor has been attributed to the high rates of infection of the HIV/AIDS virus among poor remote communities in third world countries, as well as among many Islamic countries and societies. Women are turned into easy targets for abuse, rape, and neglect resulting into infection with sexually transmitted diseases and their coping capability with illnesses quite low in case they are infected (Hodgkinson 312). Lack of access to basic education among women owing to discrimination perpetuated by many indigenous cultures has also led to great morbidity and mortality especially among infants due to diseases linked to general hygiene like diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera, and those related to poor dietary habits like, marasmus and kwashiorkor. All these situations point to the need to analyze backgrounds of patients in order to deliver on disease eradication. The diagram below shows how HIV/ AIDS is spread over men and women for different ethnic groups. Accessed on November 20 2011, from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J9H1laF2EF8/TU2yFY74uoI/AAAAAAAAAHY/7UVrfVizA_w/s1600/CDC+New+infections.jpg Stigma and discrimination Societies, in most of the cases, have low regard on certain illnesses and diseases based on various aspects of their culture. For instance, among the Muslim community, there is a lot of social stigma attached to illnesses like HIV/AIDS more than almost all cultures due to the religious view as pertains to illegitimate sex practices and drug abuse. This attracts greater sanctions even arising from mere suspicions and the affected person in most cases is discriminated against and rejected by the community including members of his/her own family (Francisco 3). This has the effect that culprits of such illicit behaviours shy away from coming forth for proper testing, counselling, and treatment, since it will lead to disclosure of the practice. The same case applies to all other sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea and syphilis, in which case patients usually suffer silently without any assistance for fear of coming out and being disgraced. In other traditional societies, especially in remote parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia, diseases and conditions such as polio leading to maimed limps, disabilities like blindness and handicap, as well as mental health disorders are viewed as a bad omen. As a result, the victims of such are in most cases locked in the backyards of their homes or otherwise quarantined. Persons involved in drug abuse are not spared this kind of discrimination, and mostly end up suffering on their own. This level of stigmatization leads to automatic barriers to successful operation of management strategies for such a disease in the society hence enhancing it propagation. Ignorance Unlike the developed world, where a majority of the population has had access to education, information and skills necessary in dealing with daily life, the third world is faced with great challenges when it comes to having the correct information concerning emerging diseases like HIV/AIDS, birds flue, diabetes and cancers. Their perception is marred with great misconception, stereotype, and even superstition in some cases. For instance, HIV is widely believed among such societies to be spread purely through illegal sex and prostitution. The thought of other means of infection like mother to child transmission, accidental prick and conduct with infected fluids for professionals in healthcare sector, or transmission from an infected partner to an innocent faithful one is unconceivable (Kartikeyan 7). This therefore leads to ultimate discrimination of infected persons regardless of the mode of infection since compassion, and understanding accorded to such a person is viewed as tolerating the illicit practice that led to the infection in the first place. In other cases, there are cultures that give lots of praise for overgrown persons, with this being viewed as a measure of contentment and wealth. Grant, in publishing his journal believes that this sort of reasoning encourages people to eat more and grow bigger by putting up unnecessary weight without paying the slightest attention to diseases like diabetes, various cancers, and heart problems that are prevalent in obese persons. Other cultures, which emphasised high fibre food and indigenous vegetables, have since been replaced with dense fat food and processed food usually low in fibre. These, coupled with snacks and junk foods from fast food stores in between meals have ensured high calories in not so active population. The obvious effect being obesity and numerous health complications that follows. Ignorance is not only prevalent in the traditional societies, but also influencing health management in modern societies. For instance, the westernized view of slimness among women as the ultimate definition of beauty has had a great impact on health. This acquired culture influences feeding habits among women in the American and many other societies. Women prefer to cut back on the amount they eat, so much that most of them end up being under weight. TV commercials featuring thin female character have portrayed slim bodies as attractive and are making young girls to increasingly surfer from anorexia disease as they underfeed themselves to attain the so much preferred body thinness. Owing to ignorance perpetuated most of the times by cultural and religious beliefs, some sects do not allow their followers to seek medical attention when they are sick. Instead, they look up to their faith for supernatural healing which in most cases end up in casualties. Due to ignorance, the rate of HIV infection at different age groups has grown tremendously for the last 10 years as illustrated in the diagram below Accessed on November 20, 2011, from http://www.healthtipscentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/3210_hiv_fig2.gif Coping strategies and treatment seeking Different cultures endow people with diverse ways of generally responding to situations. A case in point is a comparison between Asians and their American counterparts in the United States. The Asians have been cultured to a more reserved way of dealing with problems, a coping strategy they apply to any general situation, as opposed to the Americans who have been cultured into a more outspoken version. It follows that if an Asian suffers from a disease they are more likely to exercise reticence and try home remedies in the initial stages of an illness as opposed to the American who will out rightly seek for medical attention. This points out to the need for an understanding of the prevalent trend in coping with situations in any community as it has direct implications in the promotion of health. In communities with cultures that promote high resilience tactics in dealing with diseases, medical treatment is usually sort when the situation is dire and often causes difficulties in dealing with such diseases. Conclusion In conclusion, although other factors like poverty, lack of adequate healthcare infrastructural facilities and resources, insecurity leading to wars and subsequent migration and creation of refugees status among populations, degrading religious persuasions and unhealthy working and living conditions in crowded environments, cultural beliefs and practices are a cross cutting factor. Socio-cultural frameworks have had a great deal of influence on the manner in which communities deal with diseases especially the ones associated to livelihoods. As brought to light in this paper, the case of HIV/AIDS as illustrated in the Jonny Steinberg’s Sizwe’s test points out how the societal culture regimes cultivate behaviours through which the people evaluate and respond to diseases and illnesses (Steinberg 1). It points out to the need to have a closer look at the cultural aspects of the affected people in resolving health issues properly. This assertion is backed strongly by a closer examination of the HIV menace among the Muslim community. Here, illegal sex, as well as drug abuse, both of which are the leading causes of new infections are viewed with contempt and are highly looked down up on. Any person thought or suspected to be engaged in such is supposed to be automatically cast out of the society with the obvious effect of stigmatization and seclusion. This in turn leads to poor uptake of Medicare services among victims and hence negating any efforts to fight the disease. Recommendation Owing to the undoubted influence of culture in dealing with disease situations, it is imperative that behaviour and cultural change be instituted at individual and society level in order to allow for lifestyles that permit open disclosure and seeking of medical attention without risking stigmatization and seclusion. This will requires that medical health practitioners involved in eradication of any disease employ a multidisciplinary approach, which will involve an in depth understanding of the general beliefs and customs, as well as religious persuasions and ideologies that lead people to have reservation in handling certain diseases. Participation of all stakeholders including the healthcare practitioners, social workers, government, religious and community leaders, as well as the affected persons is quite important in shaping the perception of people and effective treatment of such diseases. Work cited Barz, Gregory ad Cohen, M. Judah. The Culture of AIDS in Africa: Hope and Healing Through Music and the Arts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. Card, Josefina, J. et. al. The complete HIV/AIDS teaching kit: with CD-ROM. London: Springer Publishing Company, 2007. Print. Francisco, S. Sy. AIDS education & Prevention. An Interdisciplinary Journal. Guilford Publications Inc, 2002. Grant, J. Maria. Health Information & Libraries Journal. Health Library group. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2001. Jonny Steinberg; 2008 – Sizwes Test: A Young Mans Journey through Africas AIDS Epidemic. 2008 Kartikeyan, S. HIV and AIDS: basic elements and priorities. London: Springer, 2007. Print. Procter, Rob. Health Informatics Journal. New York: SAGE Publications, 2007. Steinberg, J. Death March. The New York Times. Retieved on November 20, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/books/review/Hochschild-t.html WHO. Sexual and Reproductive health: The role of faith-based organizations in maternal and newborn health care in Africa. Accessed on November 21, 2011, from http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/en/ World Bank. Addressing HIV/AIDS in East Asia and the Pacific. World Bank Publications, 2004. Print. World health organization. Hone of Africa Crisis Update. Accessed on November 21, 2011, from http://www.who.int/hac/crises/horn_of_africa/update_nov2011/en/ Read More