Ideas And Methods Of Illness And Healing

In addition, relying on a doctor who does not share the same beliefs as one does can become fearful. Trusting the doctor for full treatment is necessary but when from a different cultural background it can prevent them on trusting them. According to a research article, Cross- Cultural Medicine a Decade Later, clearly states “when the basic belief structure of biomedicine and another set of health beliefs differs radically, problems and frustrations almost inevitably arise” (Barker, 1992, p.249). The central purpose of the research was to show whether or not health beliefs between patient and doctor differs will they find it difficult to interpret the symptoms and treatment variations to accommodate their beliefs. However, the doctor having faith in one’s health beliefs can sometimes be beneficial for the patients because they’ll be fully understood and not misjudged as being crazy. As stated by the author, for the article Chinese Health Beliefs of Older Chinese in Canada, “the findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intergroup socio-cultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice” (Lai, 2009, 38). Like the Chinese, Hmong’s too first go to their shaman for traditional treatment rather than going to the doctor; to them an illness and their healing is more of a spiritual thing that

Anne Fadiman’s novel, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, addresses key concerns regarding health and medicinal relationships with cultural beliefs. She challenges readers to consider what is known about western medicinal practices and beliefs, based on science, and recognize its effectiveness when paired with cultural understanding. This novel portrays some of the greatest medicinal and health challenges and cultural failures of western societies. There were several cultural competency themes integrated throughout the book, however, it surprised me at how distant western practices and the Hmong’s healing methods were at the beginning. It seemed as if it would be a stretch to form a connection between these two extremities,

It is not always easy to decide about the care of a patient, because the patient’s cultural beliefs do not always coincide with the beliefs of the nurse. Ephesians 4:2 in “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (English Standard Version). God has loved us unconditionally from the beginning of time, and has always been patient with us. It is time that humans show the love that God has for us onto others and respect one another no matter the differences. This paper will discuss the importance of respecting another person’s culture, what stigma is and whether if Lia’s family viewed her that way, brief history of the Hmong, the preventions that could have taken place, and how to incorporate

“Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine” (Fadiman, 1997). To the Hmong’s, this is a way of life. Everything in their culture is interrelated and represents a holistic view. As Americans, we try to incorporate the holistic approach into our health care system, but heavily rely on medications and science to treat illness.

When parents apply religious or cultural beliefs concerning spiritual healing, faith healing, or preference for prayer over traditional health care for children, concerns develop. This dilemma is unraveled in Anne Fadiman 's true story, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, where the study of cross cultural medicine holds a significant value in all profession. The book chronicles the vast cultural differences between mainstream Americans and the Hmong, and how language and cultural barriers affected Lia 's treatment. To understand the Lees we really need to understand the Hmong culture.

In the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” author Anne Fadiman presents a character who suffered from epilepsy as a Hmong child who born on July 19, 1982, in Merced, California. Being the fourteenth child of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee, Lia Lee was their favorite daughter. They spoiled her and treated her like a princess; believed that her epilepsy marked her as special; and that she might someday become a shaman, which is a person regards as having access to. Because of their belief, the Lees were both concerned and proud of Lia. They brought her to the Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) for treatment, Meanwhile, they also practiced traditional healing that involved call back her soul using tvic neeb.

In ‘The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down’, Lia, a Hmong baby girl, is born to a Hmong family living in California as refugees away from their war torn land in Laos. In Laos the Lee’s where farmers and lived in the country according to their Hmong traditions and beliefs. In California they barely understood the language, much less Western culture or medicinal practices. In Hmong tradition, illness was seen as a spiritual problem rather than a physical problem and a Shaman that practiced spiritual ceremonies and used natural remedies was sought to prevent or cure certain illnesses and/or diseases; so when Lia suffered her first seizure at the age of 3 months and was taken to Mercer

On the other hand, western medicine doctors diagnose the problem by observing the physical symptoms, screening the blood, and perform various other medical techniques that rely on advanced medical education and training. Doctors are concerned with the physical symptoms and disregard the “soul” which in turn conflicts with the Hmong culture because they believe in souls and higher mental processes. Fadiman’s proved that the central argument was the collision between the Hmong culture and the physical disease treatment of western medicine.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down, by Anne Fadiman, illuminates the issues that arise when constructive collaboration cannot be accomplished between two conflicting parties. The conflict between Western beliefs and Hmong ideology is illuminated through a young epileptic Hmong named Lia Lee, and her tragic experience due to cultural differences. Ultimately, the conflict between parent and doctor beliefs thwarted medical advancement, eventually leaving her in a vegetative state and a premature death. In order to fully understand her predicament, we must establish the bounds of each culture. Largely defined by science, Western culture approaches things in technical terms, with decisions being based on measurable evidence. Western advocates argue that individuals must understand and accept scientific reality over their religious views. Non-Western beliefs, such as the Hmong culture, are largely defined by religion and pseudo-science practices. Those that oppose strict Western ideology, such as Francesca Farr, propose, “our view of reality is only a view, not reality itself” (p 276). In other words, reality is relative to the respective individual. Legitimate claims on both sides create a large grey area of misinterpretation. On the contrary, health does not have margin for misinterpretation. The lack of understanding can prevent Western doctors from providing certain aspects of treatment. Even worse, the patient may reject treatment entirely. This dilemma in cultural

A vital foundation for a high-quality care delivery is an efficacious communication between the patient and the healthcare providers (Gengler & Jarrell, 2015). Fadiman (1997) recounted the conflict between a refugee family from Laos and a small hospital in California over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, in her book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Despite both sides wanting the best care for Lia, the lack of cross-cultural communication between her Hmong family and her American doctors, lead to her tragedy (Fadiman, 1997). Awareness regarding the disparities in culture and language of our patient with ours and how to address them should be taken into account when providing healthcare since the life of a

“In the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”, Anne Fadiman explores the subject of cross cultural misunderstanding. This she effectively portrays using Lia, a Hmong, her medical history, the misunderstandings created by obstacles of communication, the religious background, the battle with modernized medical science and cultural anachronisms. Handling an epileptic child, in a strange land in a manner very unlike the shamanistic animism they were accustomed to, generated many problems for her parents. The author dwells on the radically different cultures to highlight the necessity for medical communities to have an understanding of the immigrants when treating them.

According to the Hmong culture a shaman helps to cure the soul. A doctor cures physiological problems. As we learn throughout this class there is a difference between an illness and a disease. An illness or a disease may have the absence of the other. In most cases an illness can be present without a disease. In the case of Lia there was a presence of both illness and disease. If txiv neeb and the American doctor would have balanced their practices and learned from each other, this would have positively affected the way the Lees thought about modern medicine. I believe that faith plays an important role in Lia’s case, and if the doctors would have understood the way that txiv neeb thought and vice versa, the Lees would have trusted American doctors and medicine more. Learning from txiv neeb would have also helped the American doctors in Lia’s case and in other cases when treating Hmong patients by understanding their culture. It is important for the doctors to understand the Hmong culture and specifically the way that a txiv neeb works because in Merced a third of the population were Hmong and used a tixv neeb as their main source of healing. A txiv neeb takes the time to be with a patient while a doctor would only spend 15 minutes with them. A txiv neeb could have learn how to perform CPR in case it was ever

The story of Lia Lee in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman, explores many struggles people experience when faced with a life-threatening medical conditions. But for Lia and her family, they had added barriers of being immigrants who speak no English, who cannot find jobs, and were exiled from their own country. Ones of the biggest factor against the Lees are Western medical practice versus Easten, and any non-dominate culture, medical practices. “…the accounts of the American health care system that had filtered back to Asia were not exactly enthusiastic. The limited contact the Hmong had already had with Western medicine in the camp hospitals and clinics had done little to instill confidence, especially when compared to the experiences with shamanistic healing…”

Shamanistic healing, one of the oldest spiritual healing powers, has recently become a topic of interest in modern medicine.

The Asian and American cultures’ take on health care can be compared and contrasted based on four main topics: the cause of the disease, methods of treatment, patient compliance, and dietary beliefs. Starting with the cause of the disease, many Asians believe that ailments are caused by unexplained supernatural