Overview
Health is not just a biological fact; it is a cultural construct. Medical anthropologists study “ethnomedicine” (traditional healing systems) as well as “biomedicine” (Western medicine) as cultural systems.
Core Idea
The distinction between Disease (biological pathology) and Illness (the patient’s subjective experience of suffering). Doctors treat disease; patients suffer illness.
Formal Definition (if applicable)
Structural Violence: Social arrangements that put individuals and populations in harm’s way (e.g., poverty, racism), leading to health disparities.
Intuition
In the West, a virus causes the flu. In another culture, it might be caused by a curse or soul loss. The treatment (antibiotics vs. ritual) follows the cultural logic of the cause.
Examples
- Placebo Effect: The power of belief in the healing process.
- Culture-Bound Syndromes: Illnesses specific to a culture (e.g., Susto in Latin America, Amok in Malaysia).
- Biomedicine as Culture: Analyzing the rituals of hospitals (white coats, jargon) and the authority of doctors.
Common Misconceptions
- “Traditional medicine is superstition.” (Many traditional remedies are pharmacologically active, and the holistic approach can be effective.)
- “Western medicine is purely objective.” (It is also influenced by cultural assumptions about the body and individualism.)
Related Concepts
- Medical Pluralism: The coexistence of multiple healing systems in one society.
- Somatization: The expression of psychological distress through physical symptoms.
- Critical Medical Anthropology: Focusing on the political economy of health.
Applications
- Public Health: Designing culturally appropriate interventions (e.g., for Ebola or HIV).
- Clinical Practice: Improving doctor-patient communication through cultural competence.
- Global Health: Addressing health inequalities.
Criticism / Limitations
Balancing respect for cultural beliefs with the need to address harmful practices (e.g., FGM, denial of vaccines) is a constant ethical challenge.
Further Reading
- Farmer, Pathologies of Power
- Kleinman, The Illness Narratives
- Scheper-Hughes, Death Without Weeping