Medical Anthropology Study, Essay Example

Medical Anthropology has grown out of the necessity of including social and cultural factors into the study of medicine in order to properly determine treatment and diagnosis methods internationally.  The problem that this field has faced is that American and European medical treatment methods are directly in violation of many social and cultural beliefs and customs in third world countries around the world.  This society has forced a specific set of behaviors to emerge that has created a cultural and medical adaptation for properly treating and diagnosing disease from culture to culture.  Our text uses the example of the Guatemalan disaster where white doctors from the W.H.O. went into the country to help cure disease and the cultural stereotypes and prejudices of the “white man” and the loss of blood inhibited the doctors’ abilities to properly diagnose and treat diseases in this area of the world.

Furthermore, different cultures have different beliefs and cultural norms for the act of giving birth to children.  Many cultures consider this a religious act or a rite of passage that should be honored and revered, while others only see it as a simple act of the human biological process. Therefore, it is important to determine different birthing techniques based on the culture or geographical location of a society for medical purposes.  In order to produce such techniques, a medical anthropology study must be conducted that will place professionals into the cultures for a qualitative method of studying and observing the culture for a long period of time.  These studies would involve years of observation and interviews in order to determine the difference between what an individual may say and what that individual actually does in the act of giving birth.  The religious and social customs associated with the act of giving birth will help determine possible dilemmas that may arise when a medical professional attempts to assist in the birthing process, including working with different cultures on cleanup procedures for the birthing process.

The goal of this type of study would be to analyze as many different cultures as possible to gain holistic and ethnographically-sensitive conclusions as to proper birthing techniques in different cultures.  Furthermore, the benefit of medical anthropologists performing this type of study will help to create a critical medical anthropological study.  In this type of study, it will be determined what the overall wealth and power distribution looks like in a culture and how this may or may not apply for an individual receiving medical care during birth.  For instance, an individual may be denied access to medical services if they are of a particular race or skin color in different regions around the world.  This information is critical when creating medical techniques for giving birth.  Clearly, a cultural-constructivist or interpretive approach to the qualitative studies is critical to the success of creating accurate medical conclusions.  The challenge is having individuals in the field long enough with strong access to quality results and subjects that the study’s results are useful and accurate.

Much of the information that can be found throughout such a study is a tribute to the benefits of the advancement for a biocultural perspective on medical anthropology.  There are multiple cultural and social factors that must be taken into consideration when determining possible birthing techniques or any other medical treatment method for a group of people.  The goal of this area of science is to provide the best treatment possible based on the cultural and social assumptions and belief systems that the indigenous peoples around the world have relied on for survival for centuries.

References

Joralemon, Donald. Exploring Medical Anthropology. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.