ANTH 021 1st Edition Lecture 10Outline of Last Lecture C. GenderD. Personality in AdulthoodOutline of Current Lecture I. Health, Illness and HealingA. Medical Anthropology B. ApproachesCurrent Lecture I. Health, Illness and HealingA. Medical Anthropology 1. The Subfield of Medical Anthropology- The cross cultural study of health and health problems- One of the fastest growing areas of anthropology- Mainly part of cultural anthropology, but closely linked with the other fields, especially biological anthropology- Paul Farmer2. Ethnomedicine- Ethnomedicine is the study of cross cultural health systems- Initially only focused on non-Western health systems- Now, ethnomedicine includes the study of contemporary Western biomedicine (WBM)3. What is a “Health System”?- All cultures have a “health system” which includeso Perceptions and beliefs about the bodyo Classifications of health problemso Prevention measureso Healing/healers4. Perceptions of Body- Cultures differ in how they define people’s bodieso Perception of what a “body” actually iso Perception of internal and external partso Attitudes towards deatho Attitudes towards surgeryo Separation of mind and bodyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.5. Defining and Classifying Health Problems- No universal set of labels applies in all cultures- Disease vs. Illness- Some bases for defining and classifying health problemso Source/place of origino The vector, means of transmissiono Affected body parto Symptomso Combination of the above6. Culture Specific Syndromes- Culture specific syndromeo A health problem with a set of symptoms associated with aparticular cultureo Social factors are often the underlying causeo Biophysical symptoms, through somatization, often involvedo Can be fatal … not “just in the mind”- Exampleso Sustoo Anorexia nervosa/bulimia7. Ethno-Etiologies- Etiology: the cause or explanation of health problems- Ethno-etiology: cross cultural explanation for the causes of health problems and suffering- Can focus on factors that areo Natural/environmentalo Structuralo Psychologicalo Supernatural8. Structural Suffering- Structural suffering refers to health problems caused by war, famine, terrorism, forced migration and poverty- Many examples, includingo Sufriendo del agua (suffering from water) in Mexicoo PTSD linked to war, forced migration and disastero Kwashiorkor (extreme protein deficiency) linked to malnutrition9. Prevention- Different cultures have various forms of health protectiono Charmso Spellso Hygiene- Less studied topic than health problems and healing10. Two Approaches to Healing- Community healingo Example: the Ju/’hoansi foragerso Mobilization of community “energy” as a key to cureo All night healing danceso Open to everyone- Humoral healingo Example: Malaysiao Based on balance among elements within the bodyo Different foods/drugs have “heating” or “cooling” effects11. The Question of Efficacy- How does community healing work and how does humoral healing work?- Like much of Western biomedical healing, these approaches to healing “work” through the placebo or meaning effect:o The afflicted gain social support in community healing and receive rules to follow in humoral healing12. Healers- All cultures recognize certain people as having special abilities todiagnose and treat health problemso Midwiveso Bonesetterso Shamans and Shamankaso Herbalistso General practitionerso Psychiatristso Nurseso Acupuncturistso Chiropractorso Dentistso Hospice care providers13. Healing Substances - Thousands of natural or manufactured substances used as medicines for preventing or curing health problemso Phytotherapy (plant based therapy)o Mineralso Pharmaceutical medicinesB. Approaches 1. Three Theoretical Approaches in Medical Anthropology- Ecological/Epidemiological Approach- Interpretivist Approach- Critical Medical