Cultural Beliefs in Healing
Polynesians viewed the body, spirit, and mind as one. They also believed the body would be healed only if the spirit was healed first. It is sometimes referred as the “Lokahi Triangle”, which means harmony between men, nature and the gods. They believe if you take care of yourself, both physically and mentally you will be in harmony or balance. Illness was believed to be caused by not caring for themselves properly, breaking taboo, and it was generally thought to be caused by an angry god. Taboo is something that is sacred, forbidden, or prohibited from general use. The Polynesian society was greatly influenced by taboo. There were certain foods the Polynesians could only eat on certain religious holidays, taboo
…show more content…
This means that the connection between mind, body and spirit mental cures are important. This healthcare belief can interfere with treatment in the case of an emergency, when holistic care can only do so much for a person. The people in this culture usually delay seeking medical advice and attention and often turn towards alternative forms of medicine. Sometimes they can even return to their original home to seek traditional forms of treatment. Delaying treatment and diagnosis can lead to chronic and more serious illnesses. The lack of education and knowledge about healthcare and preventative measures for some diseases, such as regular checkups and the need for medication can impair the journey to better …show more content…
Tahiti has a literacy rate of 98%. Smaller islands of Polynesia, the dropout rate is extremely high, with about 20% or less even finishing elementary school. The reason being for the high dropout rate was the fact that children were expected to maintain the household and help their mothers. The children were encompassed with a large amount of household duty which interfered with their ability to maintain school and home life. Higher education is seen more in females than in males. 31.5% of the female population from 2010-2014 had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Unlike women, men were sitting at a percentage of 29.4 of those 25 and older who had earned higher education. There are primary secondary, vocational and tertiary schools. Children can begin primary school as young as age 5, and remain for six years. Secondary school takes another 7 years to complete, they usually finish school by the age of 17. From ages 6 to 16, schooling is mandatory; after the age of 16, children can decide if they want to continue with school or proceed with a different route for their life. Vocational education continues after secondary education and can involve agriculture or vocational training institutions, also includes private colleges as well. Tertiary education Majority of teaching is done in French, although Tahitian was taught 2-3 hours a week in primary and secondary
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
In the book The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down, ethnocentrism can also be seen. Throughout the book the family and the doctors have different ideas of medicine/healing techniques are often disagreed on. It’s important for the doctor to see that biomedicine has its own intentions of saving patient through standard procedures and beliefs. Understanding those terms will shed some light on the culture of the patient, which has their own intentions, beliefs, and rules as well. Breaking down ethnocentrism to find an agreement is a good goal to accomplish in order have successful prognosis and healing. In addition, shedding the ethnocentrism will allow the doctors to see the different cultural beliefs and not judge right away. Although, some cultural remedies may not always work, it’s wrong for people to have the mindset of ethnocentrism without even considering their beliefs first.
Traditional Hmong’s believe in their Shaman rather than western doctors, they choose to detain their treatment by hosting their rituals to save them. A shaman is “a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc” (dictionary.com). Hmong individual’s have a belief that ancestral spirits, including the spirits of shamans, are reincarnated into the same family tree. Hmong consider being a shaman an honor because they carry the duty of helping mankind according to Hmong mythology. Differences between Hmong traditional beliefs and Western biomedical beliefs create a lack of understanding. Negative health care experiences result in Hmong community members’ mistrust and fear of Western medicine. However, when there’s mistrust between a doctor and a patient there could be lack of treatment because of the differences between our ...
...uals, even if they don't agree with them. It really falls to nurses to address the situation properly, and effectively ensure that the cultural communication between the doctor and the patient does not break down. Nurses most of all have to communicate with patients in a healing way, even if they do not agree with mystical remedies because the nurse has to recognize that there is nonetheless a function that mystical ritual remedies do serve, even to western medicine: to comfort the patients and their families. Ancient rituals or customs, retained to some extent or respected by western caregivers, can serve to maintain a healing and positive attitude, and as a psycholgocial support which the nurse can provide through respect and symbolic use of non-western cultural myths as a psychological stimulant to assist the healing process and inspire the patient thereof.
The Hmong culture is evidence that health worlds exist. Health worlds exist in which health is understood in terms of its social and religious context (SITE BOOK). Spiritual beliefs in the Hmong culture are strongly connected to their view and description of health and illness (SITE 6). Illness in the Hmong culture is believed to be caused by evil spirits, a curse from an unhappy ancestor, or a separation of the soul from the body (California Department of Health Services, 2004). Paja Thao, the shaman in “The Split Horn” emphasizes his belief that a soul can separate from its body and the failure to return back to the body is a sign that the individual will become ill. Like the Chinese concept of ‘Ying and Yang’, Hmong people believe that the balance between the body and soul determines perfect health. Paja Thao believes that a body is attached to seven souls, and when there is a loss in a soul, illness occurs. In contrast to this holistic concept that the Hmong’s believe in, the Western culture is not able to predict when illnesses will occur. Instead, the dominant biomedical model of health focuses on preventing depression through a healthy life style, such as exercise and nutrition
Their culture is very different and many different social determinants of health affect their population. Their ethnocentric beliefs are so different compared to the western culture, not only in natural medicine and healing but also in terms of how evident that trust is a big issue, assimilation, health equity and substance abuse. It is very difficult to have them steer away from their beliefs and accept what a foreigner(western person) is saying to them. Due to all these problems, many health disparities exist in their population, all ranging from cultural beliefs in medicine, dancing, diet, individual behavior, the built environment and social connectedness.
Working as a research nurse at the Ohio State University, I often encounter patients that
Introduction Cultural Competency is fundamentally linked to the principles of social justice and human rights because it provides the nurses with the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills to provide equal care despite one’s cultural background. However, using the principles of social justice and human rights to educate nurses allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences. Removing their own cultural filters, and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different, accomplish this. An embedded experience, in which nurses interact with various cultures, would encourage them to adopt cultural competency knowledge (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2008). Environmental justice can affect the population’s health.
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small.
This paper will discuss three different religions that a health care provider may care for in the nursing field. It will discuss the spiritual perspective, as well as the critical components of healing, such as through prayer and meditation. The writer will give a brief summary of each religions belief. The three religions that will be discussed in this paper are Native American, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This paper will discuss what is important to people who are cared for of a particular faith by the health care provider who may have an entirely different belief system. The writer will discuss how a patient may view a health care provider who puts aside his or her own beliefs in the interest of the beliefs and practices of the patient that is being cared for. The writer of this paper is of Christian belief and will compare her beliefs of faith and healing with the three previously mentioned religions.
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
They will need to have an understanding of their spiritual and religion aspects, practiced by the patients and their family members. With having the understanding of the patient’s beliefs, the patient may consider the treatment from the health care provider. It is very crucial and imperative the health care providers listen to all aspects of the patients’ lives, which will affec...
Certain religious groups reject westernized medicine, like the Amish. Yet, for the most part most religions allow their medicinal practices to work in tandem with westernized medicine. For example, First Nations people tend to have a very holistic view when it comes to their surroundings and medicine. Aboriginal traditional approaches to health and wellness include the use of sacred herbs like sage or tobacco and traditional healers/medicine (pg. 5, Singh, 2009). However, they will not reject help from professionally trained doctors and medical staff. Much like other religions, First Nations put a strong emphasis on family/community. Consensus or decision-making is fairly common for them. A practitioner or medical staff member must remember to respect ceremonial objects such as tobacco or traditional blankets, include immediate family members when making a treatment decision, and to accommodate spiritual practices. Normally, organ donation is accepted UNLESS the organ is being removed from someone who is not deceased. First Nations’ believe that their bo...
Mind, body and soul co-exist in the Eastern Culture. “The Eastern idea of health and disease is look upon as the two sides of a coin…Every individual person is in a state of balance between external insults and internal defensive mechanisms.” ( Tsuei 1978). For example the Eastern approach takes in account of heavens and the earth” ( Tsuei 1978). If in curing the sick you do not observe the records of heaven nor use the principle of earth , result will be calamity.” ( Tsuei 1978). The Eastern culture looks at the universe and the laws of nature, in choosing treatment for their
People admire good health and want to stay healthy throughout their lives. Every individual of every race and culture look for the easiest methods to be healthy and if they get sick, they start looking for the alternate ways to regain their health. Holistic health is an alternate approach to acknowledge that health depends on the wellness of the whole body, mind and spirit. In holistic health, a person is the responsible for her own treatment depending on his or her choice and belief. Holistic health would increase the further steps to approach the prevention and healing process of the illness in current health care system and will be effective to provide the better treatment for the patients.