University:
Tyler Junior College
Course:
ANTH 2301 | Anthropology
Academic year:

2024
Views:

291

Pages:

1
Author:

Dave D.

Medical Anthropology ANTH 2301 Qualitative Methods Some qualitative research approaches are quite useful in medical anthropology. Qualitative techniques are direct, experiential means of conducting research. When an anthropologist is in a room or on the ground, they are gathering crucial data for themselves and others by taking field notes based on what they observe and documenting events as they happen. Using a technique known as participant observation, an anthropologist participates in a culture to make firsthand observations. There are several kinds of participant observation in medical anthropology. Anthropologists watch and take part in shamanic ceremonies, faith healing, public health campaigns, and clinical encounters. Clinical observations, a type of participant observation, enable the anthropologist to witness the healing customs of a culture in action. The anthropologist watches the dynamics of therapy and, in certain situations, takes part as a patient or apprentice of the healer, whether a shaman is treating a case of soul loss or a doctor is treating COVID-19. The anthropologist gains extensive firsthand knowledge of a culture's healthcare system through this highly interactive approach, yet there is a chance that it will encourage personal prejudice. Anthropologists study a wide range of subjects, including faith healing, shamanic rites, and clinical encounters. These firsthand observations accompany them to interviews, where they serve as the basis for the questions they pose. Interviews in medical anthropology might be casual discussions or more planned exchanges. An illness narrative interview is an illustration of a highly organised interview. Anthropologists document conversations about a person's condition in illness narrative interviews. These interviews can take many different forms: they can be conducted informally or formally, recorded, written down, or conducted electronically over the phone or via a video conference call. A person's experience of disease is greatly influenced by the way society constructs illness. Stories about illness nearly often centre on the afflicted individual, however they may also include their family, close network, and carers. Health decision-making analysis is another popular approach in medical anthropology that examines the decisions and factors involved in treating health problems. In order to analyse the decisions and decide what steps to go next, the anthropologist conducts interviews with the decision makers and builds a treatment decision tree. Both the patient and the healthcare provider may have an opinion in these choices. What decisions based on faith or spirituality may lead someone to refuse a procedure? What financial difficulties can individuals encounter at various stages of their disease or illness? An effective technique for examining how different cultures approach illness and health is health decision-making analysis, which draws attention to a society's material reality, religious convictions, economic strata, and social constructs like gender and caste.

Medical Anthropology - Qualitative Methods

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