Culture Care Guide to Heritage Assessment and Health Traditions, Essay Example

Culture is factor of human existence that is a constant reflection of people the world over. It provides the first clue in the process of understanding an individual vis-à-vis the behavioral nature of the individual in question. To this grasping an understanding of culture will provide a firm basis upon which medical therapeutics can be effectively offered to patients. On this premise, my understanding of this vital aspect of health delivery has been deepened by the in-depth presentations in Spector (2004) Culture Care Guide to Heritage Assessment and Health Traditions. The next several paragraphs will be dedicated to the presentation of a synopsis of the core facts that this book has illuminated in me.

First and foremost, it is prudent to acknowledge the most striking fact is the realization that culture is phenomenon that permeates every facet of the human existence, be it psychological, biological, intellectual, spiritual and sociological levels of our daily experiences. Consequently, dealing with an individual’s medical condition can be best understood from the dimension that the individual is essentially the product of the cultural forces that have influenced him or her. A healing process must of necessity take into account and begin from structuring and tailoring specific health care values and practices that will not be in conflict with the persona of the patient.

In relating the lessons from this course to my own cultural disposition, I tend to develop a better conceptualization of some of the very salient aspects of my culture concerning health and illness that I have over the years trivialized. Personal hygiene and sanitation features very prominently in my culture, largely because of the belief that cleanliness is a reflection of the state of mind of the individual and therefore to be taking serious on matters of social concern then an individual necessarily has to conform to this standard. By and large I have come to realize that with this cultural provision people are able to significantly reduce their exposure and vulnerability to communicable and infectious diseases.