Question

How would you define health? What might be some of the cultural influences on your understanding of health?

Answer 1

Ans) As defined by World Health Organization(WHO), Health is a "State of complete physical, mental, social & spiritual well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

To define health in own way, Health is a condition of being free from illness or injury & having sound mind, body, spirit.

Health is influenced by cultural aspect:

• Culture is the collection of beliefs, customs, and behaviors of a group.
• Culture may be: the language that family speaks, the foods preference and the traditions and religious practice.
• Understanding culture can help in understanding yourself and allow to see what is common with others.
• Culture gives sense of identity to an individual
• It frames and shapes how we perceive the world and our experiences.
• For Example, In many cultures, depression is a common stigma and seeing a psychiatrist means a person is “crazy”.
• So, there are many factors where influence of culture on health is seen.
• It affects perceptions of health, illness and death, beliefs about causes of disease, approaches to health promotion, how illness and pain are experienced and expressed, where patients seek help, and the types of treatment patients prefer.
• Both health professionals and patients are influenced by their respective cultures.
• Cultural bias may result in very different health-related preferences and perceptions. Being aware of and negotiating such differences are skills known as ‘cultural competence’. This perspective allows care providers to ask about various beliefs or sources of care specifically, and to incorporate new awareness into diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Demonstrating awareness of a patient’s culture can promote trust, better health care, lead to higher rates of acceptance of diagnoses and improve treatment adherence.

Culture also affects health in other ways, such as:

• Acceptance of a diagnosis, including who should be told, when and how.
• Acceptance of preventive or health promotion measures (e.g., vaccines, prenatal care, birth control, screening tests, etc.)
• Perceptions of death, dying and who should be involved.
• Use of direct versus indirect communication.
• Willingness to discuss symptoms with a health care provider, or with an interpreter being present.
• Influence of family dynamics, including traditional gender roles, filial responsibilities, and patterns of support among family members.
• Perceptions of youth and aging.
• How accessible the health system is, as well as how well it functions.
• Helping one to hv to meet the cultural aspect while deliverying health care.