Chapter 2: Discussion Question 1) “What are the conditions that currently appear to be undergoing the process of medicalization?” *What theories support these claims?
Connection to Article: Looking at Ross et. Al’s case study of Resiliency in Folk-Medical Beliefs, how does the prevalence of medicalization based on social and cultural authority, relate to the outcomes of the National Health Projects implemented by the government in Mexico?
Biomedical expertise suggests that depression and Internet addiction in the United States are biological conditions in need of medicalization or treatment, stemming from social factors (Wiley et. Al, 2013). This claim is based on a biomedical interpretation of a biocultural belief that human health is …show more content…
Al offers similar insights in the article based on the case study of Resiliency in Folk-Medical Beliefs in Pichataro, Mexico. Ross et. Al illustrates an example of the body politic through the National Health Policies implemented by the Mexican State beginning in the 1930’s with the initial intent of “improving health conditions in rural areas.” Traditional healing practices were replaced with modern methods and the institutional changes and acculturation processes through medicalization. This process, in addition to the Oportunidades program, ultimately constrained opportunities for optimal health as defined by the WHO (1978), resulting in long-term medical conditions of hypertension and diabetes (Ross et. Al, 2012).
Enter Political Economy of Health (Wiley et Al, 2013). In 1979, The WHO proposed a solution to the power and health differentials in the Mexican health system by applying ethnomedical practices in congruence with government-organized biomedicine. Combining biomedical and biocultural approaches to state-organized health care became politically, economically, and culturally beneficial to the region, and although the clinics stand out as odd within the community, the biomedical facilities are well-attended (Ross et. Al, …show more content…
Al’s qualitative analysis provides brilliant examples of applied biomedical and anthropological theoretical concepts from the reader, I do question the validity and reliability of their empirical analysis applying beyond the immediate study population considering the limited sample size of twenty-one units of analysis. Their methods show that the sample selection was necessarily small to match the original study (Cominsky, 1977), which their research builds upon. Using a Cultural Consensus Model, the researchers can form normative questions and inferences based on the cultural relevance of their study population alone, but I would not use this study to hypothesize generalizations about other Latin American cultures under similar
Connection to Article: Looking at Ross et. Al’s case study of Resiliency in Folk-Medical Beliefs, how does the prevalence of medicalization based on social and cultural authority, relate to the outcomes of the National Health Projects implemented by the government in Mexico?
Biomedical expertise suggests that depression and Internet addiction in the United States are biological conditions in need of medicalization or treatment, stemming from social factors (Wiley et. Al, 2013). This claim is based on a biomedical interpretation of a biocultural belief that human health is …show more content…
Al offers similar insights in the article based on the case study of Resiliency in Folk-Medical Beliefs in Pichataro, Mexico. Ross et. Al illustrates an example of the body politic through the National Health Policies implemented by the Mexican State beginning in the 1930’s with the initial intent of “improving health conditions in rural areas.” Traditional healing practices were replaced with modern methods and the institutional changes and acculturation processes through medicalization. This process, in addition to the Oportunidades program, ultimately constrained opportunities for optimal health as defined by the WHO (1978), resulting in long-term medical conditions of hypertension and diabetes (Ross et. Al, 2012).
Enter Political Economy of Health (Wiley et Al, 2013). In 1979, The WHO proposed a solution to the power and health differentials in the Mexican health system by applying ethnomedical practices in congruence with government-organized biomedicine. Combining biomedical and biocultural approaches to state-organized health care became politically, economically, and culturally beneficial to the region, and although the clinics stand out as odd within the community, the biomedical facilities are well-attended (Ross et. Al, …show more content…
Al’s qualitative analysis provides brilliant examples of applied biomedical and anthropological theoretical concepts from the reader, I do question the validity and reliability of their empirical analysis applying beyond the immediate study population considering the limited sample size of twenty-one units of analysis. Their methods show that the sample selection was necessarily small to match the original study (Cominsky, 1977), which their research builds upon. Using a Cultural Consensus Model, the researchers can form normative questions and inferences based on the cultural relevance of their study population alone, but I would not use this study to hypothesize generalizations about other Latin American cultures under similar