The Indian Practitioner

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Public Health


Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
2 PGDWASH student, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Traditional beliefs and practices related to health are prevalent in every society. Medical and clinical research are significant for understanding health and illness of a person. But at the same time, the socio-cultural factors which are shaped by the culture in which one lives play a crucial role in understanding health in a holistic manner. The risk of illness is increased by many social and cultural factors and it directly or indirectly influences the way a person defines and treats illness. Hence, individual behaviour related to health is determined more or less by social and cultural differences among the individuals. The objective of this article is to understand the socio-cultural aspects influencing health. It concludes how socio-cultural factors influencing the health seeking behaviour of the population play a vital role in public health.

Keywords

Coping Skills, Culture, Health Approaches, Health Equity, Health Seeking Behaviour, Medical Anthropology, Patient Focused Communication, Psychosocial Factors.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Keleher H, MacDougall C. Understanding health. Oxford University Press; Ch1 (Pt1), 3 p.

  • Nayak MG, Sharada, Geroge A. Socio-Cultural perspectives on health and illness. Nitte University Journal of Health Science. 2012;2(3):61-7.

  • Enachescu I, Sadean I. Socio-cultural interpretative dimensions of health and illness. AFASES.2013;1.

  • Iamandescu IB. Psychosomatics today-after its semantic dissolution. Info Medica 2008; 1(143):5.

  • KawachiI, Subramanian SV, N Almeida-Filho N.A glossary for health inequalities. J Epidemiol Community Health.Sep 2002;56(9):647-652.

  • Epstein RM, Franks P, Fiscella K, Shields CG, Meldrum SC, Kravitz RL, Duberstein PR. Measuring patient-centered communication in patient–physician consultations: theoretical and practical issues. Social Science & Medicine.2005;61:1516-1528.

  • Alves SA, de Oliveira ML. Sociocultural aspects of health and disease and their pragmatic impact. Journal of Human Growth and Development. Jun 2018;28(2):183-8.

  • Kleinman A, Becker AE. “Sociosomatics”: the contributions of anthropology to psychosomatic medicine. Psychosomatic medicine. Jul 1998;60(4):389-93.


Abstract Views: 292

PDF Views: 0




  • Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Public Health

Abstract Views: 292  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Dhananjay Mankar
Assistant Professor, School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
Danish Altaf Shaikh
PGDWASH student, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur, India

Abstract


Traditional beliefs and practices related to health are prevalent in every society. Medical and clinical research are significant for understanding health and illness of a person. But at the same time, the socio-cultural factors which are shaped by the culture in which one lives play a crucial role in understanding health in a holistic manner. The risk of illness is increased by many social and cultural factors and it directly or indirectly influences the way a person defines and treats illness. Hence, individual behaviour related to health is determined more or less by social and cultural differences among the individuals. The objective of this article is to understand the socio-cultural aspects influencing health. It concludes how socio-cultural factors influencing the health seeking behaviour of the population play a vital role in public health.

Keywords


Coping Skills, Culture, Health Approaches, Health Equity, Health Seeking Behaviour, Medical Anthropology, Patient Focused Communication, Psychosocial Factors.

References