Culture Shapes the Way in Which People Make Sense of the Causes and Manifestations of Health

1741 Words7 Pages
Culture shapes people’s perceptions of the causes and manifestations of health, disease and illness. To prove this I will firstly explain how the ways in which people seek to enhance health and prevent disease are rooted in their individual culture and belief systems; how the norms and values prevalent in a society define the experience of illness; how a person’s help seeking behaviour is cultural based; how reactions to treatment is shaped by cultural factors; the significance of cultural differences in the interpretation of symptoms as well as the response to them; how pain behaviour is socially learnt; and how in the context of South African healing systems it can be argued that different healing systems are rooted in the cultural differences and linked to the dominant values in a particular culture. The ways in which people seek to enhance health and prevent disease are rooted in their individual culture and belief systems. This can be seen from disease aetiology. To most Americans it is believed that germs cause disease. Other cultures, however, feel differently. These other causes include imbalance of the body, loss of the soul or theft of the soul, and the possession of the spirit. Geri-Ann Galanti (2008) states that “treatment for disease from such etiologies must vary to be appropriate to the cause.” An example of this can be seen with an upset in body balance which appears to have originated in China. There they believe that a healthy body must be in a balanced condition. Imbalances in the body cause illness. In Asia the balance is between yin (cold) and yang (hot), where hot and cold refer to qualities and not temperature. Imbalances in yin and yang could be attributed to various factors such as improper balance of foods and strong emotional circumstances. To restore balance to the system, cold foods that represent yin should be eaten to cure a hot

More about Culture Shapes the Way in Which People Make Sense of the Causes and Manifestations of Health

Open Document