The Ethnomedical Approach
WHAT IS THE ETHNOMEDICAL APPROACH TO MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
The ethnomedical approach to medical anthropology focuses on how disease is identified and treated in a particular cultural context. Ethnomedical areas of research in medical anthropology include: explanations of healing practices, explanatory models of health and sickness, linguistic taxonomies of disease categories, health seeking behaviors, and the efficiency of the healing system. Medical anthropologists then use the data gathered to create good examples of heath for a population to follow. The ethnomedical approach strives to see what cultures are more at risk for certain diseases, how these cultures receive treatment and care, and when a culture would seek care for their disease.
The ethnomedical approach to medical anthropology focuses on how disease is identified and treated in a particular cultural context. Ethnomedical areas of research in medical anthropology include: explanations of healing practices, explanatory models of health and sickness, linguistic taxonomies of disease categories, health seeking behaviors, and the efficiency of the healing system. Medical anthropologists then use the data gathered to create good examples of heath for a population to follow. The ethnomedical approach strives to see what cultures are more at risk for certain diseases, how these cultures receive treatment and care, and when a culture would seek care for their disease.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE ETHNOMEDICAL APPROACH?
One main example is prevalence of lung cancer in African Americans. Below, labeled figure 1, shows how black men are more susceptible to the illness then any other race or sex. The ethnomedical approach to medical anthropology allows researchers to determine that blacks are more at risk, and then, evaluate why the population is more at risk. Is it due to culture? According to figure 2 it is not. Although black men have a higher incidence of lung cancer out of many other major cultural groups, smoking, a cultural act, is seen highest in the Native American/ Alaskan Native cultures. The combination of these two figures leads anthropologist to hypothesize that even if blacks smoke the same amounts as other cultures, they are more at risk regardless. Culturally, this can be contributed by black Americans being more affected by racism. Instead of "being concerned about their health", people living in poverty "are more concerned about putting food on the table" and being able to treated and paid equally regardless of race (Collins). From this, an anthropologist could research why blacks are at risk for racism and if there are any cultural indications to why, statistically speaking, blacks are more likely to develop lung cancer. The graphs below could be used to educate the community on smoke exposure and lung cancer risks. Also, it would be important anthropologically, to see why the Native American/ Alaskan Native people have the highest amount of smoking, but the lowest incidence of lung cancer.
One main example is prevalence of lung cancer in African Americans. Below, labeled figure 1, shows how black men are more susceptible to the illness then any other race or sex. The ethnomedical approach to medical anthropology allows researchers to determine that blacks are more at risk, and then, evaluate why the population is more at risk. Is it due to culture? According to figure 2 it is not. Although black men have a higher incidence of lung cancer out of many other major cultural groups, smoking, a cultural act, is seen highest in the Native American/ Alaskan Native cultures. The combination of these two figures leads anthropologist to hypothesize that even if blacks smoke the same amounts as other cultures, they are more at risk regardless. Culturally, this can be contributed by black Americans being more affected by racism. Instead of "being concerned about their health", people living in poverty "are more concerned about putting food on the table" and being able to treated and paid equally regardless of race (Collins). From this, an anthropologist could research why blacks are at risk for racism and if there are any cultural indications to why, statistically speaking, blacks are more likely to develop lung cancer. The graphs below could be used to educate the community on smoke exposure and lung cancer risks. Also, it would be important anthropologically, to see why the Native American/ Alaskan Native people have the highest amount of smoking, but the lowest incidence of lung cancer.
WHAT ABOUT CULTURES, BODIES, and SECTORS?!
One of the greatest things the ethnomedical approach does for medicine is that it examines the cultures of the populations that may or may not have the disease. Culture is what makes a person or a population who they are. Culture is our opinions, our beliefs, our worldviews, and how one goes about their daily schedules. People having the same culture usually tend to group together. Culture is what makes you, you. In medical anthropology, researchers use culture to see how they can develop treatments and healing services unique to certain cultures; the idea is that then with this individualized plan, these cultures can better treat themselves and others over time. Culture is important because just giving someone treatment for a disease does not mean they will follow it or even understand why they should follow the plan of care, however, by conforming a plan that is like the patient's culture, its the idea that, the patient will then have better care and follow up because they will be able to understand better. This idea that a patient may use different methods to obtain treatments is identified by Kleinman's explanatory models of health. In this model, a hierarchy of sorts, Kleinman explains three different sectors of healthcare that different cultures may follow. These three sectors are: popular, folk, and professional. In the popular sector, a person's disease is recognized by the individual and their family. That person then takes advice from family and friends on how to treat the disease outside of the usual medical facilities. The folk sector is dominated by healers, who are upheld as sacred. These healers share the same cultural rituals, ideologies, and traditions of the person seeking treatment. Healers usually use holistic systems and spiritual methods to treat their patients. Lastly is the professional sector. In the professional sector treatments, testing, medicines, and diagnoses are organized into strict and legal operations. Medical doctors and other health professionals are upheld by law to treat patients regardless of many otherwise limiting factors and are seen as the gatekeepers to knowledge and treatment. This sector usually uses biomedical science to treat and diagnose (Kleinmann).
The three bodies are: the individual body, the social body, and the political body. Sickness is understood as a communication of the three bodies. There are many ways in which the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer can fall into each body system. The individual body system shows how different body parts are related. For a lung cancer sufferer, not being able to breath right can lead to decreased activity, therefore, leading to less exercise for the legs. By treating the lungs with inhalers or steroids, the legs are able to run again and have the oxygen needed to survive. Next is the social body. The social body explores the social life, societal culture, and metaphoric aspects of the body. The social body in the case of lung cancer can be many things, however, mainly, I think of the social desire to fit in by smoking. Since it is known smoking increases the chance of getting lung cancer, by socially smoking, a person is disregarding these health implements for the desire to fit in. Instead, holistic or whole body treatments may be more useful for treatment because it would allow a person to not only treat the lung cancer they have, but remove themselves from the society that may have caused the disease in the first place. This is done by evaluation of one's life, possibly by a religious or spiritual societal culture. Lastly is the political body. The political body the body is a means to expressing sexuality, as well as, political pressures, regulation, and surveillance. An example can be seen if a male was to be diagnosed with lung cancer. Due to the sexual nature of males wanting to provide and help problems, not cause them, the diagnosis would again stray from blaming the acts that the male did to increase his risks for lung cancer. These acts can be sexual pressures, such as men smoking because it is seen as sexy to women. The treatment from the political body perspective would have to include a way that this man can still conform to sexual pressures, as well as, still be accepted politically.
One of the greatest things the ethnomedical approach does for medicine is that it examines the cultures of the populations that may or may not have the disease. Culture is what makes a person or a population who they are. Culture is our opinions, our beliefs, our worldviews, and how one goes about their daily schedules. People having the same culture usually tend to group together. Culture is what makes you, you. In medical anthropology, researchers use culture to see how they can develop treatments and healing services unique to certain cultures; the idea is that then with this individualized plan, these cultures can better treat themselves and others over time. Culture is important because just giving someone treatment for a disease does not mean they will follow it or even understand why they should follow the plan of care, however, by conforming a plan that is like the patient's culture, its the idea that, the patient will then have better care and follow up because they will be able to understand better. This idea that a patient may use different methods to obtain treatments is identified by Kleinman's explanatory models of health. In this model, a hierarchy of sorts, Kleinman explains three different sectors of healthcare that different cultures may follow. These three sectors are: popular, folk, and professional. In the popular sector, a person's disease is recognized by the individual and their family. That person then takes advice from family and friends on how to treat the disease outside of the usual medical facilities. The folk sector is dominated by healers, who are upheld as sacred. These healers share the same cultural rituals, ideologies, and traditions of the person seeking treatment. Healers usually use holistic systems and spiritual methods to treat their patients. Lastly is the professional sector. In the professional sector treatments, testing, medicines, and diagnoses are organized into strict and legal operations. Medical doctors and other health professionals are upheld by law to treat patients regardless of many otherwise limiting factors and are seen as the gatekeepers to knowledge and treatment. This sector usually uses biomedical science to treat and diagnose (Kleinmann).
The three bodies are: the individual body, the social body, and the political body. Sickness is understood as a communication of the three bodies. There are many ways in which the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer can fall into each body system. The individual body system shows how different body parts are related. For a lung cancer sufferer, not being able to breath right can lead to decreased activity, therefore, leading to less exercise for the legs. By treating the lungs with inhalers or steroids, the legs are able to run again and have the oxygen needed to survive. Next is the social body. The social body explores the social life, societal culture, and metaphoric aspects of the body. The social body in the case of lung cancer can be many things, however, mainly, I think of the social desire to fit in by smoking. Since it is known smoking increases the chance of getting lung cancer, by socially smoking, a person is disregarding these health implements for the desire to fit in. Instead, holistic or whole body treatments may be more useful for treatment because it would allow a person to not only treat the lung cancer they have, but remove themselves from the society that may have caused the disease in the first place. This is done by evaluation of one's life, possibly by a religious or spiritual societal culture. Lastly is the political body. The political body the body is a means to expressing sexuality, as well as, political pressures, regulation, and surveillance. An example can be seen if a male was to be diagnosed with lung cancer. Due to the sexual nature of males wanting to provide and help problems, not cause them, the diagnosis would again stray from blaming the acts that the male did to increase his risks for lung cancer. These acts can be sexual pressures, such as men smoking because it is seen as sexy to women. The treatment from the political body perspective would have to include a way that this man can still conform to sexual pressures, as well as, still be accepted politically.
Bibliography:
Collins, Lois. "Ethnicity, culture play role in lung health." Deseret News, February 6, 2005. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600110065/Ethnicity-culture-play-role- in-lung-health.html?pg=all.
Kleinman, Arthur, Leon Eisenberg, and Byron Good. “Culture, Illness, and Care Clinical Lessons from
Anthropological and Cross-Cultural Research.” FOCUS 2006; 4: 140 – 149. Accessed July 18th, 2014.
http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=50511&RelatedWidgetArticles=true
Roberti, Nikki. "Report finds lung cancer rates higher among blacks." Scribbs Howard Foundation Wire, April 15, 2010. http://www.shfwire.com/report-finds-lung-cancer-rates-higher-among-blacks.
Votes, Mike. Blogspot. Accessed July 18, 2014. http://bornatthecrestoftheempire.blogspot.com/2006_01_22_archive.html.
Collins, Lois. "Ethnicity, culture play role in lung health." Deseret News, February 6, 2005. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600110065/Ethnicity-culture-play-role- in-lung-health.html?pg=all.
Kleinman, Arthur, Leon Eisenberg, and Byron Good. “Culture, Illness, and Care Clinical Lessons from
Anthropological and Cross-Cultural Research.” FOCUS 2006; 4: 140 – 149. Accessed July 18th, 2014.
http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=50511&RelatedWidgetArticles=true
Roberti, Nikki. "Report finds lung cancer rates higher among blacks." Scribbs Howard Foundation Wire, April 15, 2010. http://www.shfwire.com/report-finds-lung-cancer-rates-higher-among-blacks.
Votes, Mike. Blogspot. Accessed July 18, 2014. http://bornatthecrestoftheempire.blogspot.com/2006_01_22_archive.html.