ETHNOGRAPHIC PROJECT: Stage 2 Intervention
Preface:
Notions related to health and illness have always been an integral part of a culture, it is arguable that cultural systems influence medical and healthcare systems since they are an inconstant reality with the culture that produces them (Langdon et al., 2010). Culture, as explained by anthropology, is an instrumental concept for health professionals that are responsible for researching health interventions among rural indigenous people and even in urban areas. This paper seeks to explain and describe the role of culture in health, illness and healing and medical anthropology contributions to individual and public health in a domestic and international context with specific references to high blood pressure intervention. Culture encompasses elements that qualify any mental or biological activities that are shared by a group of people. Culture is responsible for shaping the biological and bodily needs and characteristics. Culture has strong ties to the mental and physical activities of an individual. Consequently, culture is responsible for shaping the believes and ideologies of a particular socially constructed group.
- Intervention:
Anthropology plays an important role in the field of public health and the development of public health policy. Culture is not constant; it is subject to change and has undergone significant theoretical and pragmatic changes (Langdon et al., 2010). The field of medical anthropology is a distinct field that anthropologists have shown interest in and mostly public health policy development since the development of these policies require research contribution from many disciplines. An integrated perspective of culture is one of the contributions of anthropology towards the development of public health policies. To understand the etiology of a disease among a given population, specialists utilize a multifactorial model of disease, this model examines a number of factors an and among them is culture. This model examines the cultural aspects of the disease and the beliefs held by the subjects of the study concerning the disease (Langdon et al., 2010). Holism is another important anthropological tool that is being used to aid the development of public health policies, this involves capturing every detail in a community or a population that is subject to study with a focus on understanding even the smallest details of the individual’s life.
The health intervention used to show how everyone’s beliefs and behaviors are culturally constructed and how the historical, social, political, and economic contexts in which people live or visit shape/influence who stays well/healthy, who gets sick, what they suffer, what their experience of illness is, how they are treated, who gets better/heals, and who does not for this study is Blood pressure with specific reference to African Americans. As discussed, earlier culture is responsible for influencing how individuals respond to treatment. To successfully manage Blood pressure in African American this study will focus on the use of therapeutic interventions. According to substantial research, African Americans with Blood pressure can benefit a lot from therapeutic lifestyle changes to include diet modification, increased physical activity, and weight management. However, these therapeutic changes are hard to implement as a result of barriers to include behavioral changes (Langdon et al., 2010), with a focus on encouraging African Americans with BP to embrace these therapeutic changes, medical practitioners are strategically tailoring interventions that fit within the cultural context of African Americans. The public policies that should also be instituted also are guided by the culture of African Americans.
- Culturally Constructed Ideas:
Culture health beliefs are responsible for affecting the way people think and feel about their health and health-related problems, culture also influences from who and when people seek healthcare. It is also arguable that culture is responsible for how individuals decide to respond to lifestyle changes, healthcare interventions being made and treatment adherence (Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Literacy, et al, 2004). On a global scale culture also differs in the modes of communication and even limits what can be discussed about the human body and what should not be discussed. Culture plays a major role in influencing the outcomes of healthcare interventions. From a healthcare perspective culture is accountable for providing means that are used to derive meaning from information (Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Literacy, et al, 2004). Cultural ideas on health systems are reflected and shaped through media. A wide array of social factors produces and diffuse information and miss information in addition to supporting health and shaping bias.
Cultural values of African Americans living with BP impede the implementation of lifestyle changes, for instance, it is difficult for these individuals to obey doctor`s instructions to depart from traditional diets that worsen their conditions. A percentage of this population may opt not to trust the healthcare system and may harbor suspicions that they are just mere participants of an experiment they are not aware of (Scisney-Matlock et al., 2009). To overcome these barriers, healthcare providers must adopt the art of cultural competence. This involves developing a healthcare delivery system that has incorporated the cultural heritage, beliefs, behaviors of the individual receiving care.
- Unintended Consequences:
The unintended consequences of the therapeutic interventions made to enhance the management of Blood pressure in African American individuals include; an increased number of African Americans embracing dietary changes, thus facilitating the successful management of Blood pressure (Scisney-Matlock et al., 2009).
Author’s Final Note:
The purpose of the above study was to outline the role of culture in health, illness, and healing and medical anthropology′s contributions to individual and public health as well as to describe the local and global political, social, and economic factors that influence individual and public health to shape programs and policies. This study makes specific references to African Americans when exploring the role of culture and how culture impacts therapeutic measures implemented with a focus on managing Blood pressure in African Americans.
References
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health Literacy; Nielsen-Bohlman L, Panzer AM, Kindig DA, editors. (2004) Health Literacy; A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 4, Culture and Society. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216037/
Langdon, E. J., & Wiik, F. B. (2010). Anthropology, health and illness: an introduction to the concept of culture applied to the health sciences. Revista latino-americana de enfermagem, 18(3), 459-466.
Scisney-Matlock, M., Bosworth, H. B., Giger, J. N., Strickland, O. L., Harrison, R. V., Coverson, D., ... & Ogedegbe, G. (2009). Strategies for implementing and sustaining therapeutic lifestyle changes as part of hypertension management in African Americans. Postgraduate medicine, 121(3), 147-159.
