Applied Medical Anthropology - Bridging a Holistic Approach to Healthcare and Cultural Systems
What is applied medical anthropology?
Applied medical anthropology is the study of health-related knowledge and healing practices among different cultures and societies. This field of study looks at the inter-relations of disease patterns, social standards, and common practices in different societies (Joralemon 2009:11). Medical anthropology can be viewed as a holistic approach to medical practices and looking at the entire mind and body combination and how those society conceptions affect health based knowledge and treatment. Medical anthropology looks at the psychological aspects to viewing medical issues as affected by cultural views, values, and ethics.
The relevance of applied medical anthropology
Medical Anthropology seeks to answer the questions of how to merge scientifically medically based treatment with other cultural belief systems. Medical Anthropologists serve as mediators in finding a balance between the biomedical practice with cultural beliefs and values. (Joralemon 2009:10) When bureaucratic behavior ignores the cultural beliefs of a region, all too often program failures can be contributed to not taking a medical anthropological approach. (Joralemon 2009:90) When introducing interventions to different cultures medical anthropology becomes extremely relevant in understanding and incorporating practices properly striving to stay culturally sensitive and ultimately increase effectiveness. With the help and support from the American Anthropological Association, there may be more success for education and researching other cultures.
Applied medical anthropology is the study of health-related knowledge and healing practices among different cultures and societies. This field of study looks at the inter-relations of disease patterns, social standards, and common practices in different societies (Joralemon 2009:11). Medical anthropology can be viewed as a holistic approach to medical practices and looking at the entire mind and body combination and how those society conceptions affect health based knowledge and treatment. Medical anthropology looks at the psychological aspects to viewing medical issues as affected by cultural views, values, and ethics.
The relevance of applied medical anthropology
Medical Anthropology seeks to answer the questions of how to merge scientifically medically based treatment with other cultural belief systems. Medical Anthropologists serve as mediators in finding a balance between the biomedical practice with cultural beliefs and values. (Joralemon 2009:10) When bureaucratic behavior ignores the cultural beliefs of a region, all too often program failures can be contributed to not taking a medical anthropological approach. (Joralemon 2009:90) When introducing interventions to different cultures medical anthropology becomes extremely relevant in understanding and incorporating practices properly striving to stay culturally sensitive and ultimately increase effectiveness. With the help and support from the American Anthropological Association, there may be more success for education and researching other cultures.
Medical Anthropology is a new and emerging field. The Society for Medical Anthropology was formed in 1971 and is now among the largest of the specialized societies in the American Anthropological Association. New journals and research are quickly emerging within this field. Medical Anthropology has recently become one of the most lively and dynamic subfields of the discipline (Joralemon 2009:9).
In 1955, Peru's Ministry of Public Health and Social
Welfare worked to encourage households to boil water before ingestion to prevent
waterborne diseases from creating illnesses. One of the small communities in
Peru was found to continue to not boil water, even after being educated about
the possible diseases they could contract from not boiling it. Anthropologist
Edward Welling was called in and given the task to understand why this community
was resistant to this practice. His job became to learn and understand the
culture and beliefs of the community to understand their reluctance to
incorporating this practice, and then to find ways to balance their beliefs and
help the community maintain good health (Joralemon 2009:88).
This situation in Peru is similar to Fadiman's story in her book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.
When the Hmong parent, the Lees, sought medical attention for their daughter many times for the same medical issue (seizures),
they failed to remain compliant with the doctors’ suggested regimens and treatments. They continued to return to the hospital with
the same problems and no improvement. Even after translating to the parents many times, the
parents continued to be accused of being “noncompliant”. It wasn’t until someone took the time to commit to learning and understanding their Hmong culture, that they began to understand it wasn’t the fact that they were just being uncooperative and noncompliant from defiance, but because of their cultural beliefs. IN order to help maintain good health, a balance needed to be met between the cultural practices and medicine.
the same problems and no improvement. Even after translating to the parents many times, the
parents continued to be accused of being “noncompliant”. It wasn’t until someone took the time to commit to learning and understanding their Hmong culture, that they began to understand it wasn’t the fact that they were just being uncooperative and noncompliant from defiance, but because of their cultural beliefs. IN order to help maintain good health, a balance needed to be met between the cultural practices and medicine.
(Ji Hoon Heo: Hmong Culture Anthropology Class)