Culture and Global Health

Health is a universal concept. It is something which binds us all and connects us and makes us whole. Yet one cannot forget that health has various interdisciplinary aspects inherent within its context, and until these disciplines are addressed, one cannot truely address health matters. One such matter which comes into mind is the concept and importance of culture. Culture binds a group of individauls together who have been brought together by family, religion, ethnicity or particular location. A particular culture can arise from a group of individuals who chose to spend a considerable amount together in a specific type of activity or behavioral pattern. Perhaps this too is a very limited definition of culture symbolizes in society, especially to certain individauls. Therfore, when dealing with disease culture is important. integral even. in order to maintain cultural relevance and sensitivity is perhaps one of hte hardest tasks of propogating care yet this sensitivity and relatedness is essential in order to build relationships of trust and respect not only among a patient and a health care provider but in the health care bussiness and industry as a whole.
I think that my thesis will potentially focus on this very topics. The importance and relevance of culture in the medical practice especially in regards to specific diseases. I think I will study case studies from various countries and research on thier practices. Their percpetion of medicine and how the western perception of medicine compares and contrasts with that of other cultures. Furthermore with a disease like HIV, it will be fasicating to study the implications of cultural practices among individauls who are affected by the disease. Are there poeple who are cured with concoctions proposed by local medicine men, and if not, what does one trained in western medical practices do in order to respect cultural practices while attempting to respect the rights of individauls to receive medication which exist outside of cultural norms.