Illness And Culture Essay

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a piece of journalism that demonstrates the clash between western medical practices and that of the Hmong culture. Both the physicians and Lia’s family are trying to do their best to improve Lia’s medical condition but the two cultures’ idea of treating her epilepsy contradict each others. Additionally, western medical culture and Hmong culture have different definitions for Lia’s illness. The western definition of her illness is epilepsy meaning a disruption of the electrical signals in the brain and the Hmong definition of epilepsy is soul exiting the body. As a western reader through the emersion in your culture you are subjective to have the opinion that the western way for handling epilepsy is the right way and from the Hmong perspective they are naturally subjective to think that the Hmong way of handling the epilepsy is the best way. There is not a clear answer to which way is the right way to handle Lia’s medical situation without being bias of your own culture. Not one way of medicine is better than the other, they are just different. The Hmong definition of medicine is takes a more personal holistic and spiritual approach in contrast to the westerner’s definition having an objective scientific approach. Although we cannot conclude which way of handling Lia’s medical situation is clearly the right way the one thing that is certain is that the two different cultures disrupt each other’s care for Lia. Fadiman’s journal on

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.

It focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of the illness, however, in its most narrow form can sometimes fail to address some other important influences on health and wellbeing. The medical model is concerned with the pursuit of cures for the disease.

Arthur Kelinman developed the explanatory model of illness which incorporates a series of questions that is unique to a patient’s illness to develop a treatment plan. This model assesses how patient illnesses are associated with the environment and the culture around them, while also “seeking the how, why, what, when, where, and what next of illness, disease, and health experience” (“Explanatory Model”). Asking the patient what is their opinion on what caused their illness and how they believe it should be treated will help identify their beliefs and help when planning an intervention.

There are a lot of different definitions of health and ill health all of which are socially constructed; meaning that social issues usually influence a new theory or alter an old definition of health. In this section I will be analysing different definitions of health and ill health.

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

It is believed by many in the Haitian culture that God is the decider of health, illness, life, and death (Purnell 2003). Due to discrimination experiences within the healthcare system to Haitian immigrants in the United States there may be distrustful of American healthcare (Colin, J.). Within the Haitian culture, illness and disease is perceived as punishment and has two etiologies to explain the natural illness and the supernatural. The concept of natural illness is a traditional base on the balance and equilibrium of factors such as hot (cho) and cold (fret) (Purnell 2013). Supernatural illnesses and diseases are to be caused by angry spirits, by offering feats placate these spirits.

Furthermore, in this book, Frank argues that the modernist perception of disease is a structure of "colonization," which also means that the sick individual surrender his or her body, and the narrative of his or her life to biomedical skill. In a post-modern conception, the sick individuals will find the defense and strength to tell their own story, regain the expert and energy to recount his or her own story. It takes one to create a new lifestyle narrative from the

This report will be investigating the various sociological perspectives on health as well as the models and definitions of health and ill health. These topics will assist in the understanding of how different people and different cultures react to ill health.

Faith and church are very much central to family and community life and play an important role in understanding illnesses and healing. In a recent survey, 78% of Hispanics believed they had diabetes because it was God’s will and that God could control their disease (Cabellero, 2011). Some Hispanics view good health as a reward for good behavior or good luck while illnesses are thought to have either natural or supernatural causes (Centers for Disease Control, n.d). Hispanics believe that physical and mental illness is caused by imbalance between a person and the environment. It is expressed as either “hot” and “cold” or “wet” and “dry”.

The spiritual significance of illness and suffering is a topic Christians continue to grapple with, as Larchet points out in The Theology of Illness. Scripture offers a wealth of wisdom and cues for understanding illness, health, and healing from a Christian perspective. Larchet analyzes the various and often contradictory Christian positions on health and illness, revealing how attitudes have shifted over time and with changes in medical technology, practice, and ethics. For example, St. Barsanuphius presents a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual significance of illness and suffering. One view holds that illness signifies a lack of faith; another presents illness in terms of a person who is offered the opportunity to develop a stronger faith, or whose faith is being put to a test like the story of Job. Ultimately, the latter remains the most helpful way to approach illness and healing from a Christian perspective. The essence of Christian health care is that, "Healing itself, while resulting from natural processes, actually comes from God," (Larchet 116).

Grand Canyon University. (2015). Theological anthropology and the phenomenology of disease and illness [Lecture note]. Retrieved from https://lc-ugrad1.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?operation=loggedIn#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks.html?currentT

Every culture has its own views of health care, diseases, and medical interventions. The way people of a given culture view health care affects how they handle themselves when they fall ill. For instance, the Asian culture believes that illnesses are caused by supernatural phenomena, which should be diagnosed and treated by means of spiritual healing or traditional herbs. Physicians and other medical practitioners should try to understand the cultural beliefs of their patients to handle them appropriately.

You might well think and ask, illness are concerned only with the physical condition of your body, why could one’s illness have anything to do with the society? However, one’s health issue can affect the society in different ways, for example, alcohol abuse and obesity that decrease the morale.

In terms of the negative aspect of health, an individual is regarded as healthy when not suffering from a particular illness or disease. Though “illness” and “disease” are used interchangeably, they are different (Naidoo & Wills 2000). Disease relates to biological malfunctioning, diagnosed by doctors, while illness refers both to the personal experience of the disease and its social implications. Therefore the negative concept of health is closely associated with orthodox medicine.