Medical Anthropology - Social Construction of Health

Medical Anthropology ANTH 2301 Social Construction of Health "A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" is how the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health (World Health Organisation 2020). This definition, which takes a holistic approach, emphasises the complexity of health and acknowledges that it is more than just the absence of physical illness. Individuals' total well-being is determined by a complex interaction of biological, social, and environmental elements that all have an impact on health. Contrarily, disease is solely biological and is defined by anomalies that impact a person's chemistry, function, or physical makeup. Since the time of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, there has been a clear separation between health and sickness. Hippocrates and his contemporaries retained a perspective that is still significant in modern medical discourse: they saw sickness as a phenomena that was caused by social environment and lifestyle choices. Unlike disease, illness refers to a person's social perception of a disturbance in their physical or mental state of health. This idea emphasises how subjective health experiences are and how society opinions, conversations, and explanations of sickness may influence an individual's impression of their own condition. An individual's social well-being is significantly impacted by the way others perceive and treat them, which is largely influenced by the social perception of illness. It is crucial to comprehend the social aspects of health and sickness because of the interaction between personal experiences and society attitudes. Sociologist Talcott Parsons coined the term "sick roles," which describe the social norms around a sick person's actions depending on their specific illness. These roles set expectations for how people should behave when unwell, handle their illness, and be treated by others. In order to stop the transmission of an infectious disease, for example, a person may be required to isolate himself, while others may be expected to provide support and understanding. These expectations, which differ throughout countries and are culturally formed, represent the various ways that health and sickness are seen and treated around the world. Anthropologists use the word "malady" to refer to many illnesses, diseases, and ailments. This all-encompassing word emphasises how these ideas are related to one another and how important it is to take into account the biological as well as the social aspects of health. An knowledge of health and illness that takes social experiences and cultural conceptions into account is fundamental to medical anthropology. A branch of anthropology called medical anthropology examines how communities create conceptions of health and sickness, including medical interventions for a wide range of diseases. This area of research highlights how cultural context shapes health experiences and offers a platform for cross-cultural comparison and common study. People's perceptions and experiences of health and sickness are significantly influenced by culture. It influences people's beliefs and ways of thinking as well as their values and behaviours. Many cultural perspectives on health and sickness are influenced by a variety of sociocultural elements, such as historical background, religious convictions, and economic circumstances. For example, traditional Chinese medicine is very different from Western biomedical treatments, which emphasise technology interventions and scientific explanations, in that it places a strong focus on harmony and balance. In a similar vein, indigenous healing traditions around the globe frequently include spiritual and community components, demonstrating a holistic view of health that unifies the body, mind, and spirit. Medical anthropology sheds light on these cultural differences by emphasising systems and showing how culture shapes health perceptions. Medical anthropologists can find similarities and contrasts between various health systems, providing a comparative viewpoint that deepens our understanding of health and sickness. This comparative method also shows how historical legacies, power relations, and social injustices affect healthcare access and health outcomes. For instance, using a medical anthropological lens to the study of biomedicine reveals that, although being widely regarded as the world's preeminent health system, biomedicine is in fact a cultural construct with distinct historical and cultural origins. The growth of scientific rationality and the Industrial Revolution, which influenced its emphasis on technology, specialisation, and standardisation, are strongly associated with the emergence of biomedicine in the West. But in cross-cultural healthcare contexts, this paradigm could not necessarily be in line with non-Western cultures' health beliefs and practices, which could result in disagreements and miscommunications. Moreover, medical anthropology investigates how globalisation affects health and disease. The proliferation of biomedical technology and practices has been aided by globalisation, but it has also resulted in the interchange and blending of medical traditions. People today traverse many different health systems across the world, combining aspects of traditional medicine, biomedicine, and alternative therapies in their pursuit of health. This pluralistic approach to health emphasises the need for culturally responsive healthcare policies and practices by reflecting the dynamic and ever-evolving character of cultural practices. In medical anthropology, the idea of structural violence is another crucial topic of study. Institutions and societal systems that consistently disfavour some groups, resulting in uneven health outcomes, are referred to as structural violence. This viewpoint highlights the reality that social, economic, and political inequality play a major role in causing health disparities and cannot be solely attributed to individual behaviours or biological reasons. For example, lower health outcomes are typically caused by difficulties that marginalised people encounter when trying to get secure housing, wholesome food, and high-quality treatment. Medical anthropologists research these discrepancies and promote therapies and policies that deal with the underlying causes of health inequalities. To sum up, the WHO's definition of health emphasises the intricate and diverse aspects of health, characterising it as a condition of whole physical, mental, and social well-being. The differences between sickness, ailment, and malady highlight how crucial it is to take into account the biological as well as the societal aspects of health. Medical anthropology offers insights into the many ways that communities generate and manage health and sickness, and it offers a useful framework for comprehending how cultural settings impact health experiences. Medical anthropologists promote inclusive and culturally sensitive healthcare practices by exploring the relationship between culture, power, and health. This leads to a more thorough and equitable knowledge of health and well-being.