Culture plays a significant role in shaping individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward health and healthcare. These aspects can affect the way people perceive and manage their health, as well as impact their interactions with healthcare providers. One way culture can affect health is through traditional healing practices. Many cultures have their own traditional healing practices, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and spiritual healing, that are often used in conjunction with or instead of Western medicine. Such traditional practices may be accepted and trusted more in certain cultural communities, leading to lower rates of utilization of Western medical services.
Culture can also influence health through beliefs and attitudes toward illness. For example, some cultures may view certain illnesses as a punishment from a higher power or as a result of supernatural causes. This can lead to a lack of trust in Western medicine and a reluctance to seek medical treatment. In addition, some cultures may have different attitudes towards mental health, leading to a lack of recognition and treatment of mental health conditions.
Culture can also affect healthcare through communication and understanding or their lack thereof. Each culture has specific communication styles and ways of expression, which can lead to misunderstandings between healthcare providers and patients (Purnell & Fenkl, 2019). To address the influences of culture on health and healthcare, healthcare providers should respect and understand their patients’ cultural backgrounds. This includes learning about traditional healing practices, acquainting oneself with patients’ beliefs and attitudes toward health and illness, and developing cultural competency skills to enhance communication.
In conclusion, cultural aspects can affect health and healthcare in a number of ways. These include traditional healing practices, beliefs and attitudes towards illness, and communication and understanding. To address these issues effectively, healthcare providers should strive to respect the cultural backgrounds of their patients. Proper management of cultural influences will lead to improved health outcomes and better healthcare for individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Reference
Purnell, L. D., & Fenkl, E. A. (2019). Handbook for culturally competent care. Springer.