How Do Culture and Health Beliefs Affect the Spread of Emerging Diseases Such as Bird Flu, MRSA, SARS and/or Mad Cow Disease, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The paper evaluates the impact of cultural and health beliefs on the spreading of infectious and emerging diseases. The results of the evaluation confirm the direct correlation between societal perceptions about the threat and vulnerability to an infectious disease and the extent, to which it is spread. Cultural and health beliefs can either become the cause of health panic or may result in indifference toward potential complications of pandemic diseases. Preventive measures and health education are the two instruments, which can promote better epidemic awareness among different population groups.

Introduction

The recent pandemics of SARS, Swine Flu, and Avian flu have become the issues of the major cultural concern. It appears that the spread of infectious diseases similar to SARS and H1N1 largely depend on the cultural perceptions and health beliefs, which individuals in different societies hold about these diseases. In the context of perceived vulnerability, perceived risks, and perceived severity of epidemics, it is essential that societies do not fall into panics and do not miss a chance for preventing the most serious infectious diseases.

The SARS epidemic has probably become the starting point in the gradual analysis of how cultural and health beliefs affect the spread of highly infectious diseases. T extent, to which epidemics impact societies, largely depends on how these societies view and perceive these epidemics and what actions they undertake to prevent the spread of diseases. “Previous experience with large outbreaks of serious illnesses has indicated that the potential for panic is often greater than the risk for the disease. On the other hand, the lack of appropriate level of anxiety can just as easily bring about public inertia in the adoption of adequate prevention” (Leung et al, 2003). As a result, the spread of infectious diseases is always about managing public cultural perceptions and health beliefs about the disease. For example, in case of SARS, researchers found out that respondents had higher levels of perceived threat of SARS outbreak, higher perceived severity compared to other diseases, and intermediate level of perceived vulnerability to SARS (Zwart et al 2009). Simultaneously, the level of perceived threat in Asia was much higher than that in Europe, meaning that individuals in European societies were less concerned about the spread of SARS than those in Asian countries (Zwart et al, 2009). That means that while Asian societies were thrown into the panic about SARS, they also developed effective restrictive measures against the spread of the epidemic, while Europeans, with the lower levels of concern, did not feel serious about SARS.

Unfortunately, the line between panics and indifference is increasingly blurred. Very often, misbalanced media approaches to epidemics distort the reality and either exaggerate or oversimplify the situation with emerging infectious diseases. Simultaneously, preventing the spread of emerging diseases is impossible without taking into account these cultural and health beliefs – continuous health education will minimize the risks of panic reactions and will develop pandemic awareness among different population groups.

References

Leung, G.M., Lam, T.H., Ho, L.M., Chan, B.H.Y., Wong, O.L. & Hedley, A.J. (2003). The impact of community psychological responses on outbreak control for severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. Journal of Epidemiology in Community Health, 57: 857-863.

Zwart, O., Veldhuijzen, I.K., Elam, G., Aro, A.R., Abraham, T., Bishop, G.D. & Voeten,

H.A. (2009). Perceived threat, risk perception, and efficacy beliefs related to SARS and other (emerging) infectious diseases: Results of an international survey. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16 (1): 30-40.