These slides contain the lecture content for Week 8.

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Week 8 Lecture
Instructor: Gina Crosley-Corcoran, MPH
PBH 715 – Introduction to Social &
Behavioral Sciences

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COMPARITIVE HEALTH
CULTURES

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Introduction
 This week, we discuss comparative health cultures,
looking more closely at how cultural models of health
and illness impact well-being and primary, secondary,
and tertiary prevention.
 There are many concepts that are important to our
understanding of the sociocultural basis of health.
 The theoretical foundation this week is social
constructionism
 Assumes that people interpret or assign meaning to their
experiences based on a worldview shared within the social
system where they live

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Ethnomedicine
 Domain of cultural
systems dealing with
knowledge, beliefs,
treatment practices, and
values related to illness
 Includes components on
organization and
structure of health care
systems
 Many challenges exist in
classifying both health
care systems and
typologies for illness

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Response of Human Groups to Illness
 All human groups
 Respond to illness in an organized way
 Take deliberate action to maintain good health and prevent
disease onset
 Over human history, health-maintaining practices
have changed as societies have evolved
 Interest in indigenous therapies has become more
prevalent in recent years as society seeks new and
potentially more effective medications for existing
conditions

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Health Care Sectors
• Largest and most frequently used resource
• Self-care, OTC medications, family care, advice from lay persons
Popular sector
• Organized systems of medical care provided by those who have
received formal medical training and are bound by government
regulation
Professional sector
• Individuals who learn their trade informally, operate independently of
bureaucratic regulation, and are not expected to adhere to a set
standard of care
Folk sector

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Cultural Models of Illness
• How people respond to illness is closely related to their beliefs about
the cause of the illness
• Decisions regarding assessment and treatment are significantly
impacted by the what we believe the illness “means”
Etiologic/pathophysiologic
• Concerned with how something will be treated, particularly focused on
pharmaceutical or behavioral intervention
Treatment
• Social support viewed as both a buffer to illness and as an important
aspect of recovery
Psychosocial impact

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The Culture of Public Health
 Belief that it is possible to uncover objective causes of
disease and search for a better understanding of risk
and protective factors
 Inconceivable that disease and poverty are intrinsic to
life and cannot be eliminated
 Work is shaped by the bureaucracies they function
within

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Acculturation
 Definition: the
assimilation to a
different culture,
usually the
dominant one,
after migration or
colonization
 What is the
impact on health?

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Summary
 This week, we have examined the various cultural
theories that may impact our work in public health,
but more specifically those theories that impact
illness and health behaviors.
 Examining cultural models of illness provides insight
into the ways members of a social group interact and
how knowledge is shared.

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Week 8 Assignment
Developmental
Assignment #2
Read Mud Creek Medicine
for Week 9 Live Discussion