Medical anthropologists examine epidemic outbreaks through numerous approaches. According to Joralemon, “Epidemics offer particularly vivid demonstrations of the interconnections between biological, social, and cultural components in the human experience of disease” (2010:29). Many times these approaches cannot function on their own accord and rely on each other to solve the epidemic. It is the job of the medical anthropologist to put all the pieces of the disease puzzle together. When examining diseases and how they affect a community, it is important for medical anthropologists to use a biological or epidemiological approach to gather information about the disease or pathogen behind the epidemic. An epidemiological approach “views disease in ecological term(s) as the interaction between a pathogen(s) and its host(s), as this interaction is shaped by the conditions of a specific environment(s)” (Joralemon 2010:33). In using this approach, information gathered about the genetics of the disease help determine how it spreads, what the rate of transmission is, the ways it affects the body as well as ways to prevent the spread and heal an infected person. This approach gathers very practical and scientific information that needs to be deciphered in terms of the community. When looking at the cholera epidemics in South America in the early 1990s, it was important for world leaders to know how the disease was spreading, how fast it was spreading and how it affected the body. The strengths to using the biological/epidemiological approach are that the government is able to pinpoint sources of contamination and identify disease pathogens. However, a limitation to this approach is that it does not take into consideration the cultural, ec... ... middle of paper ... ...ent of the community. It described how cholera is spread, why it spreads as well as simple, easy solutions that community members can do to protect themselves against the pathogens. It made it easy to understand and provided cultural, biological and economic examples to follow in daily life in the community. However, this short film will only be successful in its purpose if it can be shown to those who most need the information/education it provides. Many of those most affected by diseases such as cholera do not have access to modern technology like YouTube or public health websites that provide how-to guides for epidemic areas. Another role of the medical anthropologist, in my mind, is to help bridge the gap between those who have access to these resources and those who do not and to brainstorm creative, new ways for people to access vital community information.
As the quintessential Medical Anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer’s book Aids and Accusation is the typical representative of the interpretivist approach which studies health systems as systems of meaning. So, this works under the belief that people make their own choices and are not connected to laws of science or nature. The research in this field tends to be done from an objective point of view, greater detail, and looks at culture and how people live their lives, therefore obtaining high validity because it is a true representation and is trustworthy.
As the western world expand many people became ill with cholera because of overcrowding in living space, in some cities overcrowding often involved quarters below street level, where water was constantly seeping in the living area. In many Latin and African country the cholera virus is more common because of poor hygiene, poor sanitation and lack of education on public health. In an outbreak, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person that contaminates water or food. The disease can spread like wild fire in areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water. In Europe in the 1800s many people became infected with cholera because there water drawn from the nearby streams and rive...
1). Beside the continual casualties the diseases caused, these two epidemics shared common qualities when it comes to the level of preparedness and views held by both locations. The first similarity is the economic situation in rural China and West Africa. They both lived deeply in poverty and relied on the bare minimum when it came to food, water, and shelter. This fact predisposes them to being infected by an outbreak (Buseh, Stevens, Bromberg, & Kelber, 2015, p. 33). Along with poverty, the spiritual views on medicine are vastly different from the western culture. They aren’t knowledgeable on common health safety practices because they mainly rely on religious and spiritual practices, as it was stated by an article in Nursing Outlook (Buseh, Stevens, Bromberg, & Kelber, 2015, p. 33). This was a big part of the Cholera spread in the movie, involving the burial of bodies near the river and its connection with their beliefs (Norton et al, & Curran, 2006). An article by Tomori also addressed the Ebola epidemic and its association with their culture’s method of burial (Tomori, 2015, p.
Plagues and Peoples. By William H. McNeill. (New York: Anchor Books: A division of Random House, Inc., 1976 and Preface 1998. Pp. 7 + 365. Acknowledgements, preface, map, appendix, notes, index.)
The human population has a high susceptibility to the contraction of new diseases and outbreaks of these diseases are of high risk. Diseases in recent times that have broken out into the human population are the H7N9 flu strain and SARS. Despite the risk, outbreaks like H7N9 and SARS have been controlled due to epidemiology and other disease control methods. Outbreaks of disease are not uncommon to the human population as they move to new areas around the world with foreign diseases that the native residents would have developed a resistance to.
The purpose of this cross sectional study was to determine why US healthcare worker contracted diarrehea and what was the preventive care of practice that took place. An email when out to 896 participants from 50 US- based, health-focused non government organizations (NGO), which 381 completed the survey. Fifty-one percent reported caring for patient with diarrehea and 31 reported they contracted diarrehea. The Haitian Ministry of Public Health a Population identified 353 health-based NGOs working in Haiti. One hundred seventy-two respondents from the US-based that provided care in Haiti was chosen. One hundred and eighty-one was excluded due to invalid contact information, they were not based in the US or did not have any US volunteers. NGOs were asked to provide contact information for the 181 volunteers that met the criteria of being 18-year-old or
Lack of technology contributed to the fact that cholera couldn’t be studied in isolation during the 1854 outbreak. With the lack of technology there was also the lack of knowledge. The idea of germs living inside the water was an absurd idea because no one could see those
When looking back on history, it is evident to see that humans by nature are warriors. Humans often find themselves fighting mysterious battles against disguised enemies. Throughout history the earth has been afflicted with mysterious diseases, which tend to invisibly cause the preponderance of civilizations to perish. The evolution of infectious diseases has and always will provide challenges for humankind (Hoff, Smith, and Calisher 6-7). Over the course of time, humans gradually developed a preference to live in large urban settings. Urbanization and the cross-cultural interaction of civilizations have both strongly provoked widespread illness, which is known as an epidemic or pandemic based upon size. An epidemic is when a common disease affects a large number of people within a particular region (Lamb). A pandemic is similar to an epidemic but is even more widespread than an epidemic, and spreads throughout entire continents or even the world. Despite the slight variation in meaning, most pandemics are interchangeably denoted as epidemics (Friendlander 13-14). Epidemics and pandemics have formed the course of human history by inflicting lifestyle alterations and abruptly killing large masses of people. When one thinks of widespread disease it is easy to think that pandemics and epidemics are things of the past. Unfortunately, epidemics are commonly found today in poorer countries and major pandemics are still on the rise, such as the modern disease AIDS (Lampton 12-15). Nonetheless, epidemics and pandemics affect large portions of the world’s population; thus, these ongoing diseases will always influence the history of mankind because they force transformation amongst even the strongest civilizations.
In summary, this independent project has just begun my study of Medical Anthropology and has established a solid background to further my progress toward reaching one of my professional goals: to be a collaborative healthcare provider. This goal will be further developed as I begin the nursing program at St. Olaf's College next fall.
Globalization influences almost all spheres of human life. Public health has been affected by this phenomenon, both pos...
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
Applying anthropology to social work can be done in various ways. Linguistic is used through translation of language and sound. Cultural is applied through knowledge of client’s society and customs. Physical (biological) aspects are utilized in understanding the causes of a particular epidemic in a population to aid
Many people in advanced industrialized nations are often unaware of infectious diseases that plague underdeveloped countries. This is primarily due to factors that are so often taken for granted like having proper sanitation, adequately treated water, properly prepared food, easy access to medical care, and economic viability. The sad truth is that many of these infectious diseases could easily be prevented if the countries where they run most rampant had only a few of the factors mentioned above. The concentration of this paper will be to focus on one such disease named Cholera and its impact on the country of Zambia, Africa.
Cholera was primitively native to the Indian subcontinent primarily around the Ganges river. The trade routes spread the disease to Russia, and then to Western Europe. During the Irish immigration period it was spread to North America. Cholera is no longer considered a critical health threat in North America and Europe due to filtering and chlorination of water supplies.However, it still affects developing countries and especially the children inhabiting them. (Balakrishnan/ 2008)
Throughout human history disease has been linked to many facets of life and even the rise and fall of entire civilizations. Biological, social, political and economic forces have all influenced how the outbreak of disease is handled. Epidemics have altered history in how they have developed and the impact that they have had. In turn, epidemic management has been influenced by history and governments as humans have learned to cope with outbreaks and the social and political implications that result from them. Today, biomedical engineers, politicians, historians and social scientists are leading the battle in an attempt to understand and combat infectious diseases. This report will explore epidemic management and its historical relationship with the international political system. Issues will be investigated that range from the societal effects of epidemics, to observing today’s public policy debates regarding outbreaks to the possible reduction or even dissolution of conflict in exchange for food and medical technology between nations. Research has made it abundantly clear that humans must be vigilant in combating epidemics. By drawing on multiple disciplines, it is possible to implement a sound disease management plan that will control and reduce the spreading and mortality of infectious agents across the globe, as well as reduce tension and conflict between the developed and developing worlds.