Culture as a Social Determinant of Health - Essay Example

Culture as a Social Determinant of Health Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Importance of Culture in Health Access and Provision 3 Culture and Healthcare Provision 5 Policies and Practices to Reduce the Practice 10 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Social health determinants are the conditions that individuals find themselves in and directly affect their health. Various social factors are responsible for the poor health of people in the society. Social health determinants are responsible for inequality in terms of health provision and access. Culture is one of the social health determinants that affect most individuals and communities in the world (Orszag, 2011). Culture is however, varied among different communities and societies in the world. In the current world most cultures have been eroded but most of the cultural beliefs and practices are still common. Some of the cultural beliefs limit the access of the individuals to the modern healthcare facilities. The beliefs are against the modern treatment and hence affecting the health individuals. The beliefs affect the type of treatment that the individuals in the particular society have to undertake. This, is in most cases, has prevented most people from certain cultures from seeking treatment in the hospitals (Wien, 2009). Although the cultural beliefs are different in different cultures, it is imperative to note that they all have common perceptions towards the access of modern treatment. The paper critically discusses how culture plays a greater role in determining health in the society. Importance of Culture in Health Access and Provision Culture determines the way people conduct themselves in the society. It is composed of beliefs and practices that are observed by the people of a particular society or community (Woolf, 2009). Going against the cultural practices and beliefs is not acceptable in most of the communities and it attracts some form of punishment. However, due to modernization, most communities are experiencing cultural changes. The cultural beliefs and practices are however, still strong in most of the indigenous societies. Several societies that have also been modernized also still uphold some of the beliefs and practices. This is due to the difficulties that are involved in the change of cultural beliefs and practices. Access to modern health and treatment has been impacted negatively by some cultural beliefs and practices. This is because most of the cultures have their own means of handling the issues of health. However, some beliefs end up affecting the patients and have resulted to deaths of most patients. The reliance on the traditional healers is also common in most indigenous societies. However, most traditional medicine is no longer available due to environmental changes. Most traditional healers also do not receive enough training as the current living situation does not allow. This therefore leads to the inefficiency of the treatment. However, it is important to note that the culture plays an important role in terms of health as it is a determining aspect of human life continuity (Raphael, 2009). It thus determines the measures to be taken by individuals. It is also important to note that culture determines what should be done and what should not be done by individuals in a society. It thus defines the conduct of individuals within the society at all times. This means that the culture also dictates how individuals should conduct themselves during illness and poor health. In most cases, the cultural beliefs do not recognize the modern medicine in terms of provision of health. This therefore leads to the negative perception about the modern medicine and the role that it plays in the society. In other instances, the indigenous people consider the traditional medicine as superior to the modern medicine (Brascoupé, 2009). This belief therefore influences the decision people in terms of seeking medical advice from hospitals. However, it is important to note that the change in lifestyle has impacted negatively on the traditional medicine. The modern medicine is thus important in the society as it has the ability to cure the diseases associated with the modern conditions. It is thus important for the people to change their culture for the purpose of enabling the society to access better health services. It is also for this reason that culture determines the health of individuals within the society. This is due to the influence that it has on the access of the healthcare services of the people within the society. Cultural beliefs are also associated with some of the health conditions and hence influencing the ability of the individuals in the society in terms of health service access (Marmot, 2009). Culture and Healthcare Provision The culture of people plays an important role in terms of their attitude towards modern healthcare. Most indigenous people who follow their cultures strictly have a negative attitude towards the hospital. Most cultural believes are against the use of certain medical equipment which they perceive to be against their culture. It is for this reason that most of the indigenous people who are influenced by their cultures shy away from the medical facilities and hence impacting negatively on their health. Due to the misunderstanding of the local people with regard to the healthcare provision in hospitals most of them prefer the traditional healers and medicine (Braveman, 2011). The use of traditional medicine is not effective in terms of curing some of the chronic diseases. This automatically leads to poor health among the people and in most cases it has resulted to deaths. The culture clash between the society and the modern medicine has also contributed to the poor access to medical facilities by women during delivery. This has lead to the increase in the number of women giving birth at home as compared to going to the hospitals. This in turn has contributed to the deaths of many women as complications always arise during birth. The traditional midwives do not have the potential of handling the complications and hence resulting to deaths. The culture is thus a social determinant of health as it determines the access medical facilities by the people (Blas, 2010). Culture also has impacts on the willingness of the people to visit the medical facilities. Some of the cultural beliefs have led to the misunderstanding between the medical professionals and the members of the community. Some medical professionals do not understand the cultural issues and thus ends up treating the patients in a method that is not convenient to them. This automatically leads to the poor relationship between the professional\s and the members of the society. The friction leaders to the belief that the medical [professionals have no respect for the culture of the people. This reduces the number of individuals visiting the medical facilities. Some of the medical professionals also abuse the patients verbally regardless of their age. This has negative impacts on the indigenous people as their culture is mainly about respect (Navarro, 2009). On the other hand, some practices in the hospitals are against the most of the cultures. In some cultures, it is forbidden for a woman to see a man naked unless it is her husband and vice versa. However, in most hospitals, the midwives are men and they aid in the delivery of the women. This is against the cultural beliefs and hence hindering most of the women to visit the hospitals during the child delivery process. Some men are also afraid of going to the hospitals as they may end up being treated by women doctors. This perception is common among most of the indigenous societies in Africa, Asia and South America. This is also an indication that culture is a social determinant of health (Blouin, et al, 2009). The cultural beliefs among some indigenous communities also prevent the access of the patients to medical facilities. This is because some of the cultural beliefs are against the public exposure of some patients with certain medical conditions. This is due to the believer that it is a curse and should not be exposed. This leads to the patient being locked up due to the conditions that they face. This is common for patients with mental illness who are usually locked up. This is despite the ability of the modern cure to treat some of the mental conditions. On the other hand, patients with disabilities always suffer more when they are ill. This is because some of the cultural beliefs feel that disabilities are curses and hence the failure of the exposure of the people with disabilities to the public (Gollust, et al, 2009). Most of them end up losing their lives incase of sickness as they cannot be taken to the hospitals to seek treatment. The cultural beliefs also contribute to the deaths of the patients with chronic diseases. Most of the patients with chronic diseases have to be admitted in hospitals for the purpose of treatment and close observation. In other instances, the patients have to undergo surgery in order for them to be treated. However, most of the cultural beliefs are against these practices. Most of the beliefs always believe that when the patients are admitted to the hospitals they will die. The patients are thus forced to stay at home and it results to their deaths in most cases. It is thus evident that some of the beliefs are responsible for the poor health of the community (Wien, et al, 2009). The cultural practices within a community may also lead to the poor health of the patients. In some cases, it exposes the individuals to health risks. This is an indication that the culture of the people is a social determinant of health. Some practices in some cultures are against the use of contraceptives or condoms. This exposes the individuals to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The belief that the use of condoms is harmful to the health and is against the culture is a factor that has contributed to the increase in sexually transmitted diseases. Other cultural practices like wife inheritance also expose the individuals to risks (Muskat, 2009). This is because the inherited wife could be infected by sexually transmitted diseases and it could also be the cause of death of their husbands. This automatically has negative impacts on the health of the individuals within the society. Some of the cultures are also against the use of modern medicine. Although the traditional medicine could be effective, the modern developments have led to the poor emphasis on the study of traditional medicine. This has thus lowered the effectiveness of the traditional medicine and hence impacting negatively on the practice. This practice is also common in most parts of Africa. On the other hand, some cultures regard some of the diseases as curses or witchcraft. This therefore prevents the patient from being taken to hospital and hence resulting to deaths. This is despite the ability of the modern medicine treating the particular disease (Barros, 2010). The diet of individuals is also important in terms of attaining good health. Some cultures forbid the consumption of certain food products which are nutritious. This leads to the poor heath of the individuals in the society. This is common for most of the indigenous societies in parts of Africa and Asia. On the other hand, some societies emphasize the consumption of certain food which is responsible for poor health and it exposes the individuals to diseases. Changing such cultures is difficult for most of the societies (Labonte, 2009). This is due to the wide support that it enjoys among the members of the community. On the other hand, some of the cultural practices ate not hygienic and it exposes the people to risks of contracting diseases. Some of the communities share food in one plate or container. This is despite the poor hygiene that is evident among some of the members of the community. This exposes the other members of the society to health risks. Some of the communities have been impacted negatively in terms of health due to such practices. Some of the cultural beliefs are also against the modern education system. Education is closely related to the access of health. The community thus becomes poor as they continue with the old practices which do not generate much income. Education is always important in terms of eliminating poverty in the society. Lack of education in turn leads to poor access of heath facilities due to the lack of finances (Williams, 2009). Culture determines the life of individuals in most of the indigenous societies. It also influences the some of the practices like marriage. In some cultures, the men are allowed to have more than one wife. The number of children is also not controlled by most of the cultures. This has led to an increase in population in most parts of Africa and Asia. The increase in population has an impact on the heath of individuals as well as the society as a whole. In areas with large populations, the facilities are usually stressed and hence leading to poor living conditions (Soh, 2011). This also contributed to the stretching of facilities in the healthcare centers. It thus results to poor health among most of the indigenous people. Some of the cultural practices also have negative impacts on the well being of the individuals. On e example being the female genital mutilation which is common in most parts of Africa. This practice has harmful effects on the health of the women and in some cases it leads to death due to excessive bleeding. It also affects their health as it deteriorates as compared to the health of women in other regions who do not engage in the practice. On the other hand, it is also important to note that some of the cultural practices are not necessarily detrimental to the health of the individuals for instance, male circumcision which is a healthy practice. However, it is also important to note that the methods used to carry out the practice may have negative impacts on the health of the individuals. The use of equipment that is not sterilized may lead to infections and hence affecting the health of the individuals (Koh, et al, 2010). Policies and Practices to Reduce the Practice In order to tackle the negative effects that culture has on the individuals and the community, it is important to put the necessary policies in place. One of the most important policies should be on the training of the healthcare professionals. They should be trained on the cultural concepts and practices and how it impacts the provision of the healthcare services. Equipping the healthcare professionals with the knowledge of cultural issues will enable them to handle the patients in a more professional way. This will play an important role in gaining the confidence of the indigenous people in regard to modern medicine. It will also correct the unethical behaviors that some of the professional healthcare workers engage in due to the cultural issues. The cultural blindness should also be eliminated in the healthcare facilities. This is because it has a negative impact on the treatment of the patient s from the indigenous societies who value their culture. It should be clears to the healthcare professionals that the issues of culture are real and should be put into consideration when dealing with the patients. The cultural blindness has also been responsible for the mistreatment of most patients by the healthcare workers and hence reducing the confidence in the modern medicine. On the other hand, it may prove difficult for the doctors and nurses to determine the culture of the patient in a diverse situation. However, through respecting the patient and the listening to the concerns raised by the patients, the treatment will impact positively on the patients (Benach, et al, 2011). Creation of awareness among the members of the society is important in terms of dealing with the negative impacts of culture on the health of the individuals. The members of the community should be involved in the process of creating awareness on the importance of the modern medicine. The negative impacts of the cultural practices that affect the human health should also be identified by the professionals. This should then be communicated to the members of the community. A policy should also be developed regarding the access of healthcare facilities within the society. The healthcare professionals who engage in misconduct or abuse of patients due o their cultures should be put on notice. Those found engaging in such practices should be prosecuted to serve as an example for others with the same behavior. This is because of the negative impact that the practice has had on most of the indigenous people. On the other hand, the government should also put on notice those members of the community engaging in risky practices like the female genital mutilation. However, this should be done after educating the members of the community that engage on the practice about its dangers. Creation of partnership with the local community is also important in terms of promoting the health in the society. This will help the people to abandon the cultural practices that have negative impacts on the health. The elder members of the society should be the main target in the process as most of them are still strong believers of the cultural practices and are responsible for passing them to the youth (Bégin, 2009). The government should also carry out health surveys to identify the practices that impact negatively on the health of the individuals and members of the community due to the cultural issues. The survey data should then be used by the government for the purpose of planning. Measures should also be put in place by the authorities to ensure that the medical facilities are available to the indigenous people. This should however be done after the awareness creation campaign so as to encourage the locals to visit the facilities. The authorities should also put into consideration that some of the traditional medicine work and can be used for treatment. However, it is important for the government to come up with policies to support the traditional medicine that works. This should be done by testing all the traditional medicine and hence educating the people on the traditional medicine that they can use. However, in the cases of chronic illness, the people should be encouraged to visit the hospitals. This is because most of the doctors are skilled in terms of treating the chronic diseases. On the other hand, the authorities should ensure that education is promoted among the indigenous people. This is because education plays an important role in enlightening the people. It will ensure that the community members learn on the importance of promoting good health as well as eliminating the cultural issues those impacts negatively on health. Education also contributes to financial well being and hence increasing the affordability of the community members to modern health (LaVeist, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, culture is an important social determinant of healthy. This is due to the influence that it has on the health of individuals as well as the members of the society. It is also evident that most of the cultural practices and beliefs expose the people to poor health. The attitude of the members of a particular community deeply affects the provision of the modern healthcare services. This is because the attitude determines whether the health practices will be adopted by the people or not. On the other hand, it is evident that most of the deaths among the indigenous communities have resulted from the cultural beliefs as well as the practices. The attitude of the medical professionals has also impacted negatively on the access of the medical facilities by most of the indigenous people. It is evident that cultural blindness is common in the modern medical field. This has led to the inappropriate treatment of most of the indigenous people visiting the medical facilities. However the situation can be rectified through the creation of awareness among the indigenous people. On the other hand, training of the professionals wills ensure that the indigenous people who still value the culture are treated appropriately. It is also important to note that some of the cultural values and beliefs contribute to the poor health of the community members. These values are what should be done away with by the society in order to ensure the prosperity and well being of the people. 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