Traditional Health beliefs and practice

1. Traditional Health beliefs and practice Dr. Dina Qahwaji

2. Worldview, cultural outlook • Unique outlook of life based on understanding and ranking of values. • Collective expression of preferences and priorities – not absolutes and each individual may hold range of beliefs. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

3. Cultural Outlook • Expectation about personal and public ways, theories regarding social interaction, and assessment of individual behaviour are determined by cultural outlook or worldview. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

4. Cultural Outlook • Influence perception about health & illness and role of each within society. • e.g. Cultural beliefs affect who is responsible for health. American consumer, is responsible for their own health whether other culture beliefs that fate is primary influence. • In some culture general check up is unknown where fate controls. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

5. Significant of fate overlap with differences in perception of time • e.g. Americans place great values on promptness and agenda (future oriented). • The beliefs and values on self-decision (personal relation or actions) affect the responsibility of dealing and treatment • e.g. American cares about privacy whereas Middle East care beliefs that family should involve in all health care decision. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

6. Life and death health care decision varies among culture depends on beliefs and value • e.g. Middle Eastern – keep patients a live and death is in God’s plan whereas non-orthodox Jew – don’t suffer unbelievable pain and thus dying should not be prolonged. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

7. Biomedical Worldview • Health can be measured numerically and that there are standardized definition of diseases • Personal control or fate? • Medical system leave little room for chance or intervention • Individual inherits a certain physiological and has personal responsibility to make the choices that prevent disease Dr. Dina Qahwaji

8. What is health? • State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being (WHO). • This definition don’t fit the worldview of many cultural groups, it ignore natural, holy, and supernatural dimension of health. • e.g. Native Americans believes that health achieved through harmony w/nature. Other cultures think health to living according to God’s will. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

9. What is health? • Health in other culture is less dependent on symptoms than on the ability to achieve daily responsibility. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

10. Health attribute • As health is defined culturally, so are the characteristics identified with health and vary among culture • e.g. Healthy hair in US is considered clean, shiny, and flake-free, in other cultures, oily and dandruff is the norm. • Pregnancy is a medical condition in US whereas in other society is normal aspect of a healthy women’s cycle. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

11. Health Habits • There is some broad area of intercultural agreement on health habits. • Nearly all people identify a good diet, enough rest and good hygiene is important to be healthy. The variations among culture are in the definition of these terms. • e.g. Good diet differ in Asia and Middle East • e.g. Good hygiene definition also differ in America and Philippine Dr. Dina Qahwaji

12. Promotion Food Habits • Food habit-most important way in which a person can maintain health • Most culture classifies certain foods as necessary for strength, and mental acuity. Some also include items that create balance within the body and soul. • e.g. American balance diet, Chinese system of yin-yang, and hot and cold system Dr. Dina Qahwaji

13. Quantity of food is often associated with health as well. • e.g. African Americans traditionally eat heavy meals, reserve light for ill Dr. Dina Qahwaji

14. Cultural definitions of disease, illness and sickness • Illness is caused by disease, defined as abnormalities or malfunctioning of body organs and systems. • Cultural agreement on the meaning of sickness. • During the onset of a sickness, physical or behavioural complaints make a person aware that problem exists. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

15. Except in emergencies, an individual usually seeks confirmation of illness first from family or friends. • A relative with knowledge is often the most trusted person in determining whether a condition is cause for concern and whether further care needed (mother or grandmother). Dr. Dina Qahwaji

16. Biomedical culture (causes of disease) • Immediate causes (bacterial, toxins). • Underlying causes (smoking, high cholesterol level). • Ultimate causes (environmental stress, obesity). Dr. Dina Qahwaji

17. Explanatory Models (cause of sickness) Dr. Dina Qahwaji

18. Explanatory Models (cause of sickness) • Sickness due to the patient: sickness that develop within the individual, usually related to person’s or lifestyle. (genetic, lifestyle choices). • Sickness due to the natural world: etiology in the natural world includes environmental elements such as weather, pollution and toxic. Dr. Dina Qahwaji

19. Sickness due to the social world: sickness attribute to social causes happens around interpersonal conflict within a community. e.g. evil eye. • Sickness due to the supernatural world: sickness is caused by the action of God. Dr. Dina Qahwaji