Cultural Anthropology Chapter 14: Health and Illness

Health
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Terms in this set (15)
Health
The absence of disease and infirmity as well as the presence of physical, mental, and social well being
Disease
A discrete natural entity that can be clinically identified and treated by a health professional
Illness
The individual's patient experience of sickness
Sickness
An individual's public expression of illness, including social expectations on how someone should act or be sick by societies expectations
Enthomedicine
Local systems of health and healing rooted in culturally specific norms and values
Ethnopharmacology
The documentation and description of the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices
Biomedicine
A practice often associated with Western medicine that seeks to apply the principles of biology and the natural sciences to the practice of diagnosing disease and promoting healing
Human Microbiome
The complete collection of microorganisms in the human body and ecosystems
Health Transition
The significant improvements in human health made over the course of the twentieth century that were not, however distributed evenly across the worlds population
Critical Medical Anthropology
An approach to the study of health and illness that analyzes the impact of inequality and stratification within systems of power on individual and group health outcomes
Medical MigrationThe movement of diseases, medical treatments, and entire health care systems, as well as those seeking medical care across national bordersIllness NarrativesThe personal stories that people tell to explain their illnessHow does Paul Farmer's anthropology training impact his work as a doctor and a public health worker?It allows him to uncover and understand the meaning and causes of illnesses, as well as American notions about his studies in Haiti. He is also able to look at the effects of U.S. occupation on health and illness.What does cultural competency mean? What would culturally competent medical treatment look like?Cultural competency means that ability to understand, communicate with and effectively interact with people across cultures. Cultural competent medical treatment would look like hearing illness narratives and talking back and forth with the patient about what they think is wrong with them and what the best, next plan of action would be for themselves.According to Margaret Lock's research, why is organ donation so much less common in Japan than in North America?Because organs are usually procured from living relatives rather than from the bodies of brain-dead patients. It is seen as though if the brain is dead, it is the end of human life and there should be no use of carrying out an organ transplant from a brain-dead donor.