Essay on Medical Anthropology - 3843 Words

Medical Anthropology Introduction and Description: My topic, Medical Anthropology, is a field of study that uses culture, religion, education, economics/infrastructure, history, and the environment as a means to evaluate and understand cross-cultural perspectives, components, and interpretations of the concept of health (Society for Medical Anthropology, pg. 1). To further introduce Medical Anthropology, I will reiterate highlights of my previous presentations. Early on in Turkey, I asked each person in our program the following question: I would like you to tell me about health and what it means to you? The answers to this question varied widely, making it difficult to define a global conception of health. In analyzing†¦show more content†¦I have also considered social implications of health, cultural, and spiritual values. With this knowledge, I hope to adapt each patients medical care to reflect his or her individual needs in an effort to promote an optimal healing outcome. Research and Methods: I applied class lectures from our Cross-Cultural Learning in Context course on cross-cultural communication. I also utilized the personal application of cultural competency theories to obtain a functional awareness of cultural dynamics present in intercultural relations (Paige, p. 22). This allowed me to become more effective in cross-cultural situations (Paige, p. 23). On a smaller scale, since I was communicating in a multicultural environment, I used the anthropological techniques below to gather my research data: †¢ Interviews †¢ Surveys †¢ Field Observation †¢ Cultural Immersion †¢ Library and Internet Research The sources included WHO; USAID; World Bank; The Ministries of Health for Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Greece; and The Center for Cultural Competency. Results Outcomes: This next section will address the results and outcomes of my goals for the project according to country. Namely, I will discuss aspects of each health program, highlight the components of Medical Anthropology, and give a briefShow MoreRelated The Body, Meaning and Symbols in Medical Anthropology Essay1125 Words   |  5 PagesThese include the body and its representation, meaning and a person’s response to that meaning, and finally, the symbolic images which construct and shape both meaning and the bodily representation. Each of these themes are addressed throughout medical anthropological texts, and are connected to and build on each other in a variety of ways. The body is the site of medicine, because the body is the site of all cultural practices. 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