Culture can be defined as a pattern of ideas, customs and a system of predefined behavior shared by a group of common people. Culture distinguishes groups of people from one another and it contributes to the richness and uniqueness of each group of people based on the patterns or customs that they follow. Cultural distinction may include some or all the listed characteristic subset language, age, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, religion and spiritual beliefs, educational background geographic origin, personal background and even group history (Gibson, Lisanne 2010.) Culture tremendously impacts people’s lives both positively and negatively. Since culture is primarily a way of doing things that guides how a particular set of people who have common interests or have a common background, even medicine has a culture that is constantly changing with time. Medicine culture is affected by emerging technology, research and new illnesses just to mention a few (Pacey, 2014). Health is also considered as a cultural concept since it frames and shapes how we see the world and our encounters. …show more content…
It also characterizes what healthcare providers and patients believe about the causes of some of the diseases. For instance, some patients are unaware of the germ theory and may instead believe in fatalism. For example, in rural Afghanistan, it is believed that there is an evil spirit that seizes infants and is ultimately responsible for tetanus-like illness and it is referred to as the 'evil eye', or a demon (Spiro, 2005). They may not be willing to visit a physician or even accept a diagnosis and they may be reluctant to believe that they can change the course of events. Instead, they can only accept circumstances as they are after manifesting tetanus-like
Jean Giddens (2013) defines culture as “a pattern of shared attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can occur among those who speak a particular language, or live in a defined geographical region.” (Giddens, 2013). A person’s culture influences every aspect that person’s life. Beliefs affected by culture include how someone interacts within the family, how to raise children, the types of foods eaten, the style of clothes chosen, which religion is practiced, and the style of communication (including verbal, and body language, slang used etc.) (Giddens, 2013). In addition to these beliefs, health care practices are also affected by culture. The cause
Culture is expressed through a variety of different ways, from clothing styles to lifestyles to faithful traditions. It can also have a deep impact on the viewpoints of those around you, whether negatively or positively. No matter how a person goes about their everyday life, they can rise above the expectations of their culture to change the world around them. Culture does not have to be the basis of every thought, word, or deed of a person.
How does one define what culture is? Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with, their world and with one another - transmitted from generation through learning. This is particularly meaning a pattern of behavior shared by a society or group of people; with many things making up a society’s ‘way of life’ such as language, foods etc. Culture is something that molds people into who they are today. It influences how people handle a variety of situations, process information and how they interact with others. However, there are events when one’s own culture does not play a significant role in the decisions that they make or how they see the world. Despite
Giger (2013) defines culture as a response in behavior that is shaped over time by values, beliefs, norms and practices shared by members of one's cultural group. A person's culture influences most aspects of his or her life including beliefs, conduct, perceptions, emotions, language, diet, body image, and attitudes about illness and pain (He...
Going to a different country or area of the world can open up anybody’s eyes to see that culture makes a huge impact on the understanding and practices of healthcare that seem to be so common to other areas of the world. When a person lives in one country their whole life, that person may not realize how different the life they live is from someone in a foreign country. If a person is going to receive treatment from someone with a different cultural background, they should be expected to get treatment to respects their own culture. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences having such a diverse variety of students has their own cultural competency definition that states “effectively and comfortably communicate across cultures with patients of differing backgrounds, taking into account aspects of trust in order to adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures”. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, the issue of culture and healthcare are greatly prevalent. Katherine Dettwyler herself goes to West Africa as an anthropologist and her horizons are broadened when during her research she comes in contact with how much culture has an impact on healthcare and everyday life.
Medicine as discipline is assumed to have a culture of ‘no culture,’ why is this? This is because right from training, through residency and even when one becomes a doctor, physicians are trained to think of themselves, their practices and ideas as being completely devoid of culture, but rather, as timeless truths that need not be questioned. This is why medicine is assumed to have a culture of no culture; but is this entirely true?
Culture has been defined numerous ways throughout history. Throughout chapter three of, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley, the term “culture” is defined and supported numerous times by various groups of people. One may say that culture can be defined as a set of beliefs (excluding instinctual ones), traditions, and practices; however not all groups of people believe culture has the same set of values.
Seeking to position lower socioeconomic status above racial/ethnic biases or vice versa is irresponsible to the goal of eliminating healthcare delivery differences at large. Both these are realities of a group of people who are not receiving the same level of care from the healthcare professionals although they exist within one of the most resource rich countries in the world, the United States. According to House & Williams (2000), “racism restricts and truncates socioeconomic attainment” (page, 106). This alone will hinder good health and spur on disparities as racism reduces the level of education and income as well as the prospect of better jobs. Blacksher (2008) cites the nation’s institutionalized racism as one of the leading factors
Culture by definition is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices, as well as customary beliefs, social forms and material traits that characterize a racial, religious or ...
How does culture influence health? Give some examples of ethnic and cultural influences on the health of individuals or populations.
Social Organization: Cultural background helps to understand the illness of many people and cultural beliefs could also influence a person’s behavior succeeding an illness. Some cultural groups have certain conditions more prevalent in them (Crouch & Meurier 2011). Ms. S.M is a healthy 48-year-old female, living with her 3 children and her husband of 20 years, her parents diseased due to illness. Social activities for of Ms. S.M include hanging out with her friends and she also likes to travel different places. She has a full time job and after her work and taking care of her kids in her free time she likes to watch movies and television shows both American and her native language.
Health Care Cultural Assignment Janell Mclawrence and Jonique Ponder Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing Health Care Cultural Assignment Usually when the Caribbean countries cross your mind you think of sunshine, vacation, beaches, blue water, great food and many more. One thing that doesn’t often cross the mind when traveling is healthcare and the quality of care you will receive. The country I chose is Jamaica.
Culture can be defined by one’s family history. Without a doubt, the way a person a raised has a huge impact on their life. Parents teach their children how to be a good person based on their own beliefs. If a parent grew up from a poor background, then that parent may instill the importance of education and hard work. If a parent grew up being overweight, then that parent may instill the importance of eating healthy and exercising. In other words, the next generation is learning behavior patterns to hopefully better themselves as a whole.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.