Anthropologists And Non-Communicable Diseases

Cultural implications were evaluated from the Hmong perspective, using the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.” The assessment was based on the Hmong people and followed the Geiger and Davidhizar’s transcultural assessment model. Five areas were focused on in particular from their model: Environmental Control, Social Organization, Communication, Space, and Time Orientation. The result reaffirmed that there is a huge cultural divide that caused many errors in the care of young Lia Lee, including many miscommunications that could have been prevented. I briefly touch on the importance of cultural awareness in the health care industry and why it is important to be sensitive to the culture of others.

Therefore, I will always keep in mind that those skills and behaviours are necessary to work together and communicate sensitively and efficiently with Indigenous patients. Ultimately this cultural awareness will lead me to provide better health care. This reading emphasises the importance of cultural awareness which improved my understanding and respect for other cultures. This understanding encouraged and influenced me to practice in a culturally sensitive way, which is safer way and in addition it creates responsiveness between professionals and

It is critical to understand the epidemiology of such diseases that overcome a population. With this skill, it would enable health care managers to incorporate such skills to make proper evidence and population based decisions, especially when health resources are limited. In addition, finance, planning, quality issue assessments, and evidence based public health practice would be considered (Healey & Lesneksi, 2011). This can allow them to not only develop best practices, but to also share them through the health care system (Healey & Lesneksi, 2011).

In the first synthesis essay, examination of worldview was identified as one of the most important concepts necessary to understand and interpret medical anthropology. Worldview is the reason that there are many different types of medical systems. As explained in lecture, these include diagnosis, healing, and some form of payment to the healer. The study of these different medical systems falls under the term ethnomedicine. Singer describes ethnomedicine as the idea that all medical systems develop from “particular sociocultural systems regardless of the scale of the society.” For example our US healthcare system, based on western worldview, is a hierarchy of administrators who tell the doctors what they can and cannot do. Our devotion to the US healthcare system stems from our need to label the symptom or disease such as nasal drip and a cough can be labeled as a common cold. The worldview seen here is the need for immediate cures to avoid interrupting our busy lives. On the other hand, in “Touching the Timeless” with Billy Yellow from the Navajo tribe, there are many steps to prepare for his healing ritual such as the sweat hogan, where purification rituals are performed, in this case, before a strong spiritual ritual can be done. Thus understanding the worldview that comes with the development of medical systems is vital to understanding why the practices are being used and being able to compare these medical systems cross culturally.

The opportunity cost of doing too little to stem this pandemic is apparent to many, but not, it would seem, to those who need to take hard and firm policy decisions to create healthier environments in schools, homes, hospitals and workplaces. We also need to ensure funding for quality treatment is available and accessible to all to prevent or delay

Medical Anthropology: the study of health, illness, and healing from a cultural and/or cross-cultural perspective.

In order to fully grasp an understanding of the importance of cultural competency in healthcare, it is vital to be aware of the demographic shifts in the United States alone, as it is rapidly growing and increasingly becoming more diverse. In 2006, about one in three Americans was a minority (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) and Hispanics have surpassed African Americans as the largest minority group, comprising 15% of the population. The demographic shifts are changing so rapidly that the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2042, no single ethnic group will comprise the majority percentage of the population. In turn, this would make more than half of Americans a member of a minority group. With these changing demographics, every healthcare worker will care for culturally diverse clients and need to know how to provide culturally relevant care.

Within anthropology there are two main schools of thought. These different views shape the philosophies of anthropologist who are classified as materialist, idealist, or falling in between. The materialist approach focuses on positivistic knowledge and empirical truths. Materialists’ use science and material elements within society to explain the basis for human culture and life; they consider anthropology one of the sciences. On the other hand, idealists consider anthropology one of the humanities. Idealists view culture and behavior as a pattern of interpretation of beliefs and ideas by the participants. This paper will discuss anthropologist Marvin Harris, a materialist, Clifford Geertz’s idealist point of view, and Eleanor Leacock’s approach

In the United States (U.S.), chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability. Chronic disease activities are sparsely delivered in the U.S. despite the fact that 7 out of 10 deaths are caused by chronic diseases, every year; and 75% of our health care costs 75% of health care costs are attributable to preventable diseases.1,2 One main reason for this imbalance is that funding for chronic disease prevention activities is limited. In fact, only 3% of the U.S. total health expenditure is devoted to public health.3 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading federal agency for public health spends an estimated 70% of its budget on infection disease prevention and control, with less than 10% of its spending devoted to chronic disease prevention.4

Anthropology is a combination of the words “Anthropos” and “Logos”. It simply means the study of human. Since the human beings have both biological and cultural characteristics, anthropology extensively studies including both aspects. However, culture is the most important thing in anthropology. The culture of a particular organization, group, or country consists of the habits of the people in it and the way they generally behave. The particular traits and characteristics are held in common within that environment and are passed on generationally. Based on the culture of the community, group, or country, we can deeply research and understand their life style. The best method that is used

This paper provides an analysis of the work of Paul Farmer, and the members of Partners in Health exemplifies the three fields of medical anthropology (ecological-epidemiological, critical and interpretive). This paper hypothesizes that diseases can be caused by various factors while the other factors that are mentioned in this paper are associated with the cause.

There is no universal fix to the complexities of each country and what they face with regards to their health care needs. Health care is a fundamental need among all peoples. Each country will have to work on solving the disparities that exist in access of care, funding of care, and availability of care. Because we now find ourselves facing the dilemma of fighting many infectious diseases once thought to be under control, we must work with all countries around the world. Every country faces the potential of an outbreak of a disease like SARS or a terrorism strike involving biological or chemical agents. Global initiatives to improve the health of nations across the board regardless of resources in these nations will benefit all. We need to continue with consistent and comprehensive measures to ensure health equity to all (Williams & Torrens, 2010).

Chronic disease is a burden for the healthcare authorities in U.S. due to the rising cost. Surely, the debilitating costly effects of chronic conditions is preventable. The economic effects of chronic disease extend beyond the cost of health care, evidence-based practice shows that disease prevention starting to all the people who are at risk of developing any chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, respiratory diseases, arthritis, obesity, and oral diseases should be a priority for the healthcare authorities. To reduce cost and health disparities, there are certain measures that should be taking by the healthcare authorities. For example, access to a local comprehensive and quality health services is

Anthropology, as a discipline in the field of human sciences, is based on certain ethical principles to guide its practitioners through their research. This creates a stable framework on which to start any research project. Avoiding deviation, however, can be complicated. Anthropologists have a responsibility to their field,

The third sustainable development goal is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well -being for all at all ages” which includes a focus on children (UN, 2015). The top six global causes that account for 73% of yearly deaths in children younger than 5 years of age are pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal pneumonia or sepsis, preterm delivery, and asphyxia at birth (Bryce et al., 2005). Each year diseases that are both preventable and treatable cause the deaths of millions of people (CIRH, 2013). Childhood non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise and, childhood is a crucial time for prevention of modifiable risk factors for