The Emergence and Re-Emergence of Infectious Diseases, Essay Example

I believe that the majority of applicable issues to be studied would be those that are likely to be the most influenced by culture and social institutions (and vice versa). It is a difficult task to choose the most prominent examples of interactions between medicine, health care systems, and culture. Virtually all aspects of each system have some connection to the others, and it is not easy to think of a medical situation where cultural influences are not a major consideration. Luckily, consideration of some of this week’s discussion topics will help to narrow the goal.

Reproductive technologies are difficult on biological merit alone, but they can become extremely complicated when their relationship with both the health care system, and cultural context, is taken into account. Assistive reproductive tools, for example, have yet to gain total support from the United States health insurance industry, resulting in major costs for prospective beneficiaries of the technology. Given the history of American unease with advancements in reproduction, it is likely that some of the opposition to these procedures stems from cultural influences related to religion and concepts associated with “natural” birth. Similar cultural influences have also contributed to the still-lingering resistance to contraceptive technologies. The traditional view of women in this context presents even more of a challenge to the gender, as they may face accusations of promiscuity for using these devices. I believe that studying reproductive technology will help us to better understand the factors that have restrained its optimal usage.